TAMPA, Fla. – A man who barricaded himself inside a Florida motel room exchanged gunfire with police officers in a standoff that stretched from Christmas Eve into Christmas Day.
Neither the man, whom Tampa police identified as Renardo Bucklon, nor officers were hit during the gunfire exchanges, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
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The standoff ended Friday after stretching more than 21 hours, with the gunman taken into custody. Bucklon was transported to a hospital with minor, non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
The standoff started Thursday afternoon after two men got into a fight at the the motel near Interstate 4, and Bucklon fired a gun, authorities said.
The other man called police officers, who found Bucklon barricaded in a motel room when they arrived. They tried, unsuccessfully, to convince him to leave the room, leading to the standoff, authorities said.
Officers approached the room Thursday night after they heard a gunshot coming from inside, and Bucklon fired at them, hitting the officers' ballistic shields, the Tampa police said.
Later, police unsuccessfully tried to flush Bucklon out of the motel room by sending in a chemical irritant.
Early Friday, officers again approached the room to implore Bucklon to surrender. He was in the bathroom and fired at the officers, who shot back. Nobody was hurt, authorities said.