A man in Moorhead, Minnesota, has been engaged in a standoff with police for several hours as he refuses to leave the roof of a house that caught fire on Saturday afternoon. The incident took place at 821 Seventh Ave. S. when firefighters responded to a house fire at 1:20 p.m. Witnesses reported that the man was on the roof, shouting to the crowd that had gathered below.
A team of SWAT negotiators has been attempting to talk the man down from the roof. Throughout the standoff, the man occasionally yelled and gestured wildly, at times threatening to jump but then returning to a sitting position. Negotiators provided him with a cigarette and water, which he retrieved partway down the roof but refused to come all the way down.
Moorhead police Sgt. Scott Kostohryz stated that the man on the roof may have been involved in the fire, but the investigation is ongoing. Two individuals were inside the house at the time of the fire, but no injuries were reported. The front windows of the house on the first and second floors were knocked out, while the back of the house did not show obvious damage.
As the sun set, police set up spotlights around 8 p.m., indicating that negotiations were expected to continue for several more hours.
Just after 9 p.m. Ahrenholtz descended a series of ladders and was taken into custody.
Ahrenholtz is currently involved in another ongoing arson case. He is alleged to have set his own apartment ablaze on Easter Sunday, following an eviction notice he received from Skaff Apartments.
Author: Ryan Scott
Just a guy
