38 hours later: Ozaukee County Sheriff's Office explains long Fredonia standoff

OZAUKEE COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office spoke for the first time following a nearly 38-hour standoff in the Village of Fredonia.

On Thursday night, multiple law enforcement agencies engaged in what they called a “tactical situation” with an armed individual.

The Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office says it received multiple calls about a home on Fox Glen Road playing loud music and firing gunshots.

“The suspect said continuously that he would kill or shoot anyone who came into the home,” said Sheriff Christy Knowles, with the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office. “We’ve had past calls with him. This was a two-officer response at all times based on some of the past history we had with him, and during those calls, we knew he had firearms.”

Multiple law enforcement agencies and SWAT teams engaged in a standoff with a 37-year-old man inside the home.

Joan Gaedtke has lived on Fox Glen Road in Fredonia for more than 30 years, but says she’s never seen anything like this before.

“About 8:23, the shots started, and just, boom, boom, boom. I went in my basement. I was scared. I didn’t know what was happening,” said Gaedtke. “I was crunched, like a fetal position, in that corner of my house in the basement.”

On Saturday morning, officers and firefighters deployed a tactic only ever used in training.

“Water. It was actually water,” said Sheriff Knowles.

Officers, along with the Port Washington Fire Department, used a ground monitor to subdue the suspect with water.

“At the end, they had this long water cannon that just shot up. It was very, very powerful,” said Gaedtke.

The suspect, whose name has not been released, now faces numerous felony counts of recklessly endangering safety and failure to comply with law enforcement’s orders.

“I prayed to God I didn’t get killed,” said Gaedtke.

The Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office says they may file additional charges against the suspect as their investigation continues. Officers say they’re thankful that after a nearly 38-hour standoff, not a single life was lost.

“Exhausted. I think I could speak for all of us with that, but relieved,” said Sheriff Knowles.