Anchorage police arrested a woman who allegedly assaulted a woman and pointed an air gun at police after a five-hour standoff Sunday morning in West Anchorage.
Police alleged that Amy Paniptchuk, 32, assaulted her girlfriend's aunt and then threatened to shoot herself, prompting several hours of negotiations and ending with an arrest.
Police responded to the 2900 block of Doris Street around 3:25 a.m. after receiving an open line 911 call. Dispatch managed to get a hold of a woman at the home who said another woman was "coming up the stairs to beat them up."
The initial investigation revealed that Paniptchuk "had threatened her girlfriend with a knife and physically assaulted her girlfriend's aunt." Paniptchuk's girlfriend and the girlfriend's aunt along with two young children were able to get out of the apartment.
Paniptchuk, apparently drunk, ran to a unit on the lower level of the duplex, when officers arrived on scene, according to police. A negotiator and a Crisis Intervention Team officer were called to assist after Paniptchuk failed to follow responding officers' commands.
"Paniptchuk continued to be uncooperative, claiming to have a pistol and threatening to shoot herself and the officers," Dani Myren, police spokesperson, wrote in news release. "At various times Paniptchuk made comments about someone shooting her 'if she has to make them.' Around 4:00 AM responding officers started taking precautionary steps to protect the safety of bystanders by evacuating the occupants of residences to the north and south of the suspect's location."
Police called in a SWAT team around 4:30 a.m. after negotiations proved unsuccessful.
"The standoff continued, however, with [Paniptchuk] refusing to surrender peacefully, saying she would 'rather be put in the morgue,'" Myren wrote.
Shortly after 8:00 a.m., Paniptchuk told police she was "locked and loaded and ready to come out."
At 8:30 a.m., the SWAT team used non-lethal gas to bring the suspect out of the home and when she went outside she "immediately pointed what appeared to be a handgun at the officers, compelling officers to take cover."
Myren described the last moments of the standoff as a "very, fast dynamic situation," and at some point officers recognized Paniptchuk was holding an airsoft gun and the suspect was placed in custody.
According to Myren, based on the initial reports, it was unclear if Paniptchuk went to the ground due to gas or if she was giving up.
Paniptchuk was charged with one misdemeanor charge of assault in the fourth degree, three felony charges of assault in third degree, and another felony charge of assault in the third degree based on two prior convictions of assault in the fourth degree.
Contact Neil Torquiano
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Police Arrest Woman after 5-Hour Standoff in West Anchorage
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