Philly man charged with holding Elkins Park firefighters hostage
Cheltenham Police block Penrose Avenue near LaMott Fire Company after a capturing a gunman who took four people hostage. (Emma Lee/WHYY)
A recently fired volunteer firefighter has been charged with kidnapping and related offenses after he allegedly held four men hostage at a Montgomery County firehouse.
Paul Jordan, 25, surrendered to Cheltenham Township Police last week after a roughly hourlong standoff at La Mott Fire Co. in Elkins Park.
A SWAT team and hostage negotiators were called to the scene as Jordan, distraught about his departure, held the group of firefighters in the company’s basement at gunpoint with a 9 mm handgun.
Jordan, a Philadelphia resident, fired one shot into the wall during the late morning incident, but no one was hurt.
He is charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, unlawful restraint and false imprisonment.
Bail was set at $1.5 million.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 21.
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