A worker at a tourist business faces 30 counts of attempted murder and a $500,000 bail after a police standoff.
Troopers in Jefferson County say they blocked a road and cut power at Cook Forest this weekend after a man was holed up in an apartment and wouldn’t come out.
The complaint says the man’s sister was worried because he’d been drinking heavily the night before, and when she tried to talk with him, he cursed at her while waving a gun.
Also, on Friday night, police say he’d pointed his gun at a MacBeth’s Cabins employee who went to tell him there were guests in some cabins.
We have more on how everyone got out alive.
Police say the standoff situation at the MacBeth’s store and cabins came to a peaceful end when the suspect surrendered on Sunday morning.
The complaint says John M. MacBeth, 47, fired 30 shots at a state police SERT unit, which fired back.
“He’s a cousin and this John and I have been friends, lifelong friends, and it’s just sad that it’s come to this,” says MacBeth’s Cabins owner Michael MacBeth.
Owner Michael MacBeth says he was in the command post at the park office, amid the standoff with his relative who lived over the store.
“He kind of watched over things for us and worked here at the store too,” says Michael MacBeth.
The complaint says John MacBeth wouldn’t talk with a trooper who showed up around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, or come outside.
Police say they cut off power to the area to make him uncomfortable
“They in turn put in chemical munitions, chemical gas, tear gas, that kind of thing, and he was able to withstand that,” says Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Bruce Morris.
In fact, following the tear gas at 4:30 p.m., police say MacBeth fired 30 shots over the next 39 minutes in an exchange of gunfire with troopers in riot gear.
“You really don’t know the purpose and the reason behind what it is he’s doing, what the objectives are. All you know is that he has a gun and he’s shooting at our guys,” says Morris.
With no hostages involved, police waited.
“We have nothing but time time’s on our side, so no matter how long this lasts, we can wait them out,” says Morris.
Eventually, police say John MacBeth walked out after 10 a.m. on Sunday.
“It was amazing what the police were able to do, the restraint that they showed and professionalism from top to bottom, dealing with him, and their communication with us,” says Michael MacBeth. “I don’t want to go into details, but I just want to thank them, the work that they did, and they were able to get him out alive and no one was injured.”
“It worked like it’s supposed to. He gave up,” says Morris.
Police say MacBeth was taken to the hospital for treatment of a minor injury and a medical evaluation. He was later taken to the Jefferson County Jail.