Man dead as Center City high-rise police standoff ends

This article originally appeared on NBC10.

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A man fatally shot himself after a tense hour in Center City Tuesday afternoon. Philadelphia Police had a significant presence at an 18th and JFK high-rise building after a reported shooting in the building.

A man barricaded himself in a corner apartment of the Sterling Apartment Homes along JFK Boulevard near 18th Street shortly before 1 p.m., Philadelphia Police Capt. Sekou Kinebrew said. He allegedly fired one shot out of a window prior to shooting himself.

Police are saying the area is no longer an immediate threat to the public.

A 66-year-old man who answered the door of an apartment on the 18th floor said that his roommate was in an argument with another man in his 30s and shots had been fired during the altercation. Police said they don’t think the man in his 30s lived in the apartment.

Police eventually entered the bedroom around 1:50 p.m. to find the man in his 30s dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Kinebrew said. A .40-caliber Smith & Wesson was found next to the man.

An alert sent to residents in the building called the situation a “domestic incident.” An announcement over the building loudspeaker told residents on the 15th floor and above to not go onto their balconies.

Police continued to search for a third man who was in the apartment at the time of the incident. Kinebrew said that man likely won’t be facing any criminal charges.

Traffic is now reopened in all directions at 18th and JFK. Delays are expected as congestion clears up.

WHYY’s Peter Crimmins contributed reporting. 

The National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-8255) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.