UPDATE: An eight-hour police standoff ended Friday evening when SWAT team officers entered an apartment on Esther Drive around 7:30pm and found Lampkin lying dead on the second floor with a semi-automatic pistol near him on the floor.Police identified the man late Friday night as Tobias Lampkin. (L) Lampkin is a convicted felon with a lengthy arrest record for armed robbery, assault and several auto thefts. The medical examiner will perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
*********************************
A dangerous standoff between police and an armed suspect in west Charlotte has led authorities to evacuate 20 area residents. Police called Charlotte Area Transportation System(CATS) buses to help with the evacuations. The residents were taken to Westview Christian Church at the intersection of Freedom and Lundee. One person was not evacuated, but he was told not to leave his home.
Toddville Road was closed from CSX Way to Freedom Drive for several hours, but is now open even though police are still trying to negotiate with the man.
Authorities said the standoff started when the Violent Criminal Apprehension Unit tried to serve a warrant on a suspect in a 2005 armed robbery around 11 a.m. The man wasn't home, but police found him driving around Charlotte and chased him back to his house on Esther Lane, officers said. The man went into the home and has not emerged. He even attempted to shoot at Special Weapons and Tactics team members that arrived on the scene, police said. Fortunately, no one was hit. SWAT officers shot back, but they do not know if the suspect was struck. More police have been called to the scene. Authorities also said they arrested someone inside the home on unrelated charges. Source: WSOC-TV