Shocking footage has emerged of a tense standoff between police and a knife-wielding man on the roof of a house.
The incident came as another man’s body was found inside the Tamworth home in north-east NSW, with a murder investigation being launched.
Peter Nielsen, 55, is accused of stabbing Richard Garland, 47, in the head before the standoff on Saturday afternoon.
Police officers swarmed Mr Garland’s Goonoo Goonoo Road property at about 4.30pm.
After initially locking himself inside a bedroom, Nielsen then emerged on the roof wielding a knife.
At one point, he ran across the roof to push away a ladder police were using to try to get to him.
He also threw roof tiles at the officers trying to apprehend him, who in turn used Tasers and fired beanbag rounds.
Feathers could be seen exploding from his puffer jacket, but Nielsen barely reacted.
Upon reaching the roof, the negotiators attempted to persuade Nielsen to come down. However, as they drew near, he made a sudden escape and ended up falling to the ground, where he was dispossessed of his weapon and subsequently apprehended.
Locals spent much of the evening watching on from their own backyards and just behind police tape, as the man refused to come down.
The standoff ended when he fell from the roof, after a policeman armed with a Taser and a riot shield rushed at him.
In a statement, NSW Police said the 55-year-old man was treated for stab wounds.
The authorities established a secure perimeter around the area of the apartment block, and additional support was summoned, including personnel from Tactical Operations Regional Support (TORS) and police negotiators who responded to the incident according to the official statement.
‘Officers were speaking with a 55-year-old man when he fell from the roof.
Following the event, paramedics provided immediate medical assistance to Nielsen for the stab wounds on his chest. He was then transported to Tamworth Base Hospital and is currently kept under police supervision in a critical yet stable condition.
‘Initial inquiries allege the two men were known to each other.’
No charges have yet been laid.
Detective Inspector Tom Aylett said ‘there were some circumstances yesterday that change that required us to initiate some response to make sure that male was brought down from that roof and done so safely’.
‘(Police) secured the arrest of a male that we’re going to allege was involved in the murder of someone else,’ he said on Sunday.
Police are looking into a range of motives, including whether drugs were involved and have located the weapon they believed was used in the confrontation.
‘Two men were in the house and something has led to one of those males attacking the 47-year-old male, causing those significant injuries,’ Det Insp Aylett said.
‘That’s certainly something we’ll look at, different lines of inquiry around history, relationships and a number of factors that was the motive behind it.’
Det Insp Aylett expects charges to be laid against the Tamworth man in coming days.
He defended the use of non-lethal weapons, including a Taser and beanbag rounds, to coax the man down when he began wounding himself before he fell.
‘We have an obligation to protect life and property, including his own (and once) he started self-harming with a weapon, we had to take appropriate action to make sure he was put into custody,’ he said.
Paramedics attended the confronting scene and treated the alleged offender for self-inflicted chest injuries, NSW Ambulance Inspector Tim Troon said.
The street remained shut down on Sunday as forensics and homicide detectives took over the investigation.
Detectives from the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad are assisting local police in the investigation into Mr Garland’s death.
Floral tributes have been laid at the scene in memory of him.
