WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Police have identified the man locked in an active hours-long standoff that continues in Wilkes-Barre Tuesday afternoon as Pennsylvania State Police try to convince him to leave a home peacefully or force their way in. .
Shortly before 9 a.m. Tuesday, Wilkes-Barre City Police received a call from a woman who claimed her stepfather, identified as 56-year-old Luis Angel Soto Madera, was shooting at the interior of his home in the 100 block of Sambourne Street in Wilkes-Barre.
Multiple law enforcement officers responded around 10:00 a.m. and formed a perimeter around the home on Sambourne Street in Wilkes-Barre to remove Soto Madera from the residence.
According to the police criminal statement, Soto Madera’s stepdaughter, her boyfriend and her mother made it out of the house safely. However, police say they believe Soto Madera is still inside the home, refusing to come out.
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Soto Madera allegedly started shooting at his stepdaughter for making too much noise and waking him up, the affidavit says. Officers say her stepdaughter’s mother intervened when she stopped Soto Madera from locking her stepdaughter outside and told her, “You better do something or I’m in charge.”
Police say Soto Madera went upstairs and retrieved a gun, then pointed it in the direction of her stepdaughter and her boyfriend, and fired, yelling, “Look what you made me do.”
Soto Madera’s stepdaughter, her boyfriend and her mother feared for their lives, officers say. So they grabbed the family’s dogs, ran upstairs and called 911, were able to get out of the house when police arrived and secured the perimeter, according to police.
Eyewitness News crews say police have the area of Garfield Street and South Main Street blocked off for public safety and the Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) is also on scene. deploying the “ROOK.“
A PSP negotiator speaking through a megaphone urged Soto Madera to leave the house peacefully and raise his hands, stating, “No one outside wants to hurt you.”
“There is an active warrant for his arrest, please leave peacefully, it could all be over if you just walk out the front door. If not, the windows will be broken and it will make you very uncomfortable inside the house.” said the PSP negotiator.
Anthony Dixon, a Wilkes-Barre resident, says he and many neighbors have been outside for a few hours waiting to see what’s really going on.
“I’ve been here for three hours and I saw the boy inside. I mean sometimes we see stuff like this and it’s crazy. But, especially on a street like this, it’s definitely crazy. Everybody’s saying different things, but nobody knows exactly what’s going on, it’s scary, very scary,” Dixon explained.
28/22 News reports they hear two flashbangs and that Pennsylvania State Police are circling the scene with their helicopter, while the “ROOK” has been deployed.
One of the people in the home told police that Soto Madera has several guns inside the home on Samboure Street, according to police. As the affidavit states, Soto Madera has a criminal record for burglary and theft in New York, which prevents him from legally owning a gun in Pennsylvania.
Police say officers believe Soto Madera is still inside the home and police still have the area on lockdown.
This is a developing story and 28/22 News will keep you posted on the latest developments as they become available.
