A man wielding a gun Wednesday night at the North Side Country Fair in Oil City forced police to react quickly to de-escalate the situation.
Oil City police chief Bob Wenner said officers were sent to the scene at 11:30 p.m. after receiving reports of a suicidal man.
Wenner said the man, whose name hasn’t been released, had contacted family members and made statements that he wanted to harm himself.
Wenner also said the man indicated he wanted to set up a “suicide by police” situation because he couldn’t act on his own threat.
The officers on the scene were able to contain the situation in a matter of a few minutes and were able to get the man to relinquish the firearm before taking him into custody, Wenner said.
“The officers did an exceptional job and did as they were trained,” Wenner said. “I’m proud of my men and their response.”
There is a chance criminal charges will be filed against the man, but Wenner said the focus right now is on evaluating his mental health status.
No other information has been provided by police.
