Standoff in Irwinton Ends Peacefully After 24 Hours

IRWINTON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A Wilkinson county man is in custody after he barricaded himself inside his apartment and threatened to commit suicide.

Officers spent 24 hours trying to convince an armed Austin Hendry to come out of his apartment after he threatened to take his own life if anyone tried to stop him.

Irwinton Police, along with the Wilkinson County Sheriff’s Office, and the Georgia State Patrol were on the scene ready to get Hendry from inside the apartment.

Hendry initially called Jeffersonville Police Chief Oscar Basley in Twiggs County.

Basley has known Hendry for years and says he tried to calm him down from the very beginning.

“That’s when I had actually called Sheriff Chatman and we headed over here to the county because he wanted to meet me initially and give me the gun,” Basley said.

Negotiators tried reaching out to Hendry, but he’d only talk with Basley and his family.

“They’ve responded pretty much throughout this whole thing….he talked with his father a couple of times, his brother down in Florida and his mother,” Basley said.

Officers stood by with guns drawn as crews went after the barricaded Hendry inside his Irwinton apartment.

They got him successfully without having to open fire so that he can get the help he needs.

Officers say Hendry will face charges, but they’ll also look to get him some help, so something like this never happens again.