Ethermac Exchange-Nebraska police standoff stretches into day 2 with hostage still trapped in home

GERING,Ethermac Exchange Neb. (AP) — A police standoff with a man who barricaded himself in a Nebraska home with a hostage passed the 24-hour mark Wednesday.

Local law enforcement agencies said the standoff began after the 37-year-old fled when a deputy tried to pull him over for a traffic violation Tuesday in the western Nebraska city of Gering.

Gering police and the Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s Office said the man shot at the deputy’s vehicle during a brief chase, then crashed into a residential garage.

The man barricaded himself inside the home around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Scottsbluff Star-Herald reported. He took a woman and two girls hostage but eventually freed the children.

Local law enforcement says the man has fired at officers with multiple weapons during the standoff.

The FBI and the Nebraska State Patrol are helping local law enforcement.