Man with knife barricades himself into bedroom

Gardaí were involved in a near four-hour standoff with a man armed with a knife who barricaded himself into a bedroom in an apartment in a Co Cork town.

The incident was sparked when gardaí arrived at the apartment off the Bailick Rd in Midleton shortly after 8am yesterday, to serve a bench warrant on a man who is described as a foreign national.

Superintendent John Quilter said when gardaí arrived they were threatened by the man, who then barricaded himself into a bedroom. Unknown to gardaí at the time, he was armed with a knife.

Gardaí called for back-up and a number of members of the force quickly arrived.

Supt Quilter said a command centre was set up in the area and it was sealed off to ensure public safety.

In the meantime, members of a Garda negotiating team tried to talk the man into giving himself up.

The stand-off started at 8.15am and was only resolved shortly before noon following the intervention of officers from the Regional Support Unit.

The man was arrested and taken to Midleton Garda Station.

It’s understood he was on his own in the apartment at the time.

There were no reports of any injuries and shortly after the arrest, gardaí removed the security cordon from the area.