Police Arrest Armed Woman Who Barricaded Herself Inside Trenton Home

After a , police apprehended a 57-year-old woman who barricaded herself in her house with a gun in the 1700 block of Hawthorne Street in Trenton.

The incident began at about 8 a.m. and the scene was clear of emergency vehicles at about 1 p.m.

According to Thomas Coombs, director of public safety in Southgate, negotiators talked the woman out of the house and police took her into custody without incident.

Coombs was on the scene with the Downriver Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team. He serves as chairman for the SWAT Team Committee.

Coombs said the woman had been distraught because her son had committed suicide three weeks ago.

The woman’s husband initially called the police at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday after she allegedly pointed the gun at him. He then left the house and called police.

Chief William Lilienthal was also on the scene. He was telling people to get back and several officers had used patrol cars to create barricades in nearby streets.

Lilienthal said the woman was threatening to kill herself with a revolver. The revolver as well as numerous other guns were removed from the house for safekeeping.

He added her son had recently returned from the military and killed himself shortly after. Lilienthal did not know if her son had served overseas.

Negotiators were communicating with the woman by both phone calls and text messages, according to Coombs.

Officers were also trying to communicate with the woman by using a loud speaker inside a patrol car. Officers told the woman that they were there to help her and to please come to the front door.

is located a few blocks away from the woman’s house.

Anderson Principal Kathleen Gibson said she and Superintendent John Savel were aware of the situation, but the school was never put on lockdown.

Police told Gibson to keep everybody inside the building.

Police called Gibson at about 12:30 p.m. and told her that the situation was no longer a safety concern for Anderson and to resume the day in a normal fashion.

Gibson said she was grateful to the Trenton Police Department for keeping her well-informed of the situation.

Trenton Mayor Gerald Brown had been in close contact with Trenton police throughout the ordeal.

“It’s an incident that happened, proper procedures were followed and the greatest news today is that it happened without incident or injuries to anyone,” Brown said. “Too many times these things end in self-inflicted wounds, and I’m happy that no one was injured.”

The woman was taken by the to Wyandotte Hospital to seek a medical opinion on her mental capacity, according to Brown.

Charges have not yet been filed.

"The entire operation was a success (in) that nobody got hurt," Lilienthal said. "The SWAT team and negotiators did an excellent job, as did the Trenton police officers and firefighters who responded to the scene."