Man armed with samurai sword causes hours-long standoff in Menasha

Nov 06, 2024

MENASHA (NBC 26) — Menasha Police say a man armed with a large samurai sword entered a business Sunday and refused to exit, resulting in standoff lasting from the morning through the early afternoon.

A police K-9 unit and Winnebago County SWAT team eventually arrested the 34-year-old Menasha man.

Officers responded to the business in the 1600 block of Appleton Street, near Midway Road, around 7:15 a.m., to find shattered glass, according to a release from Menasha Police.

The man moved around the business destroying property, arming himself with the sword and other things. Law enforcement spoke with him, but the man refused to leave.

After SWAT negotiators failed to make progress for several hours, a K9 team was deployed and the man was taken into custody. He was referred on the following charges:

Police did not give the time of the arrest, but a Wisconsin Department of Transportation traffic update indicated the incident was resolved just after 2 p.m., so the entire saga lasted around 7 hours.

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