Blasdell standoff ends peacefully
A 7 1/2-hour standoff in Blasdell ended peacefully early Thursday morning when a 39-year-old Lake Avenue man surrendered his loaded shotgun and then walked out of his house without incident.
More than two dozen Hamburg SWAT Team members, Blasdell police officers and volunteer firefighters surrounded the home of Dale Kluczynski from about 5:30 p. m. Wednesday to about 1 a. m. Thursday.
The incident ended when Kluczynski threw the shotgun out the back door.
“Then a few minutes later, he came out the front door,” said Blasdell police Lt. Michael Melisz.
The standoff apparently was triggered by an abuse complaint at the home, where Kluczynski, armed with a loaded weapon, was inside with his wife and her teenage daughter.
“They got out of the house, and then he made some threats that he might hurt himself and someone else,” Melisz said.
Authorities said Kluczynski, who has been unemployed, had been drinking earlier in the day. Following the incident, he was taken to Erie County Medical Center for evaluation. Police plan to charge him with menacing, reckless endangerment and possibly assault.
The incident forced officials to close Lake Avenue and some nearby streets, and residents living near the scene were not allowed to return to their homes during the standoff. At least one business in the area, Rocko’s Tacos, across the street from the home, also was forced to close.
With no hostages in the house, authorities said they would have waited all night to resolve the standoff.
“We were willing to wait as long as possible, to get him out of the residence safely and get him medical attention,” Melisz said.
gwarner@buffnews.com and tpignataro@buffnews.com
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments