Update: Little River armed standoff over, suspect in custody

Horry County police were staked outside of a home off of Waypoint Ridge Avenue in the Carolina Yacht Landing subdivision in Little River Tuesday night for about eight hours after a standoff with a wanted suspect began.

Lt. Raul Denis confirmed that the standoff started when officers attempted to apprehend a suspect, who escaped into a home off of Sea Mountain Highway around 11:30 a.m. The suspect is wanted for assault and Denis says he may be armed.

The standoff ended around 7:45 p.m. and the suspect is in custody, Denis said.

Denis said that the suspect made aggressive threats toward officers. SWAT team members were on scene, and surrounded an apartment building in the gated subdivision.

Bill Millman, who lives off Old Crane Road in Little River, could see the standoff from his porch. He said because the neighborhood is tucked back pretty far off Sea Mountain Highway, it doesn’t usually see this much commotion.

“It’s a quiet neighborhood, nothing like this ever happens,” Millman said.

Millman and his wife were on the way to Wilmington when they saw several police cars surround the apartment, and then several more pull up a bit later. They decided to stay home and watch the drama unfold, especially since Millman said he’s had run-ins with the suspect in the past.

Millman said the suspect – a young man – used to walk across his backyard “like he owned the place.” Eventually the Millmans erected a fence, which stopped the man from walking in his lawn. Millman said they saw officers surround the apartment and Taser the suspect, who escaped the Taser and ran into the home.

“It’s been going on for hours,” Millman said.

This story was originally published June 7, 2016 at 1:09 PM with the headline "Update: Little River armed standoff over, suspect in custody."