City police can be seen at the site of an armed standoff that closed down Pleasant Valley Boulevard near Seventh Street on Wednesday. Mirror photo by William Kibler

An Eldorado man who had allegedly threatened to kill family members with a shotgun was arrested midmorning Wednesday at a relative’s house after an eight-hour standoff with police that closed down Pleasant Valley Boulevard near Seventh Street.

No one was hurt.

Suspect Patrick A. McIntire, 21, allegedly accused the relative of sex trafficking while threatening to call police, which confused the relative, after which McIntire, face covered with a black bandanna and shotgun across his shoulder, said he was “gonna start killing family, and you might be first,” while expressing frustration that the victim hadn’t helped him get a job or girlfriend — causing the victim to flee and call 911 about 1:35 a.m., according to an affidavit of probable cause to support charges of terroristic threats, simple assault, harassment and weapons violations.

Following the call, patrol officers came to the house and surrounded it, after which members of the Altoona Police Tactical Response Team gathered, with reinforcements from Logan Township police, with officers deploying an armored vehicle owned by the South Central Mountains Regional Task Force and kept in Logan Township, according to city Police Chief Derek Swope.

Officers tried to communicate with McIntire by phone, but his phone was apparently dead, so they resorted to a loudspeaker, urging him to come out, but heard nothing, said Swope, who took charge of the scene about 4:30 a.m.

Trying to establish communication with someone in a standoff is standard practice, according to Swope.

“The last thing we want is any type of confrontation between officers and the suspect, especially when we know that the suspect is armed,” Swope said.

Police obtained a search warrant, and at about 9:15 a.m., eventually broke a window, through which they deployed a small aerial drone designed for tight spaces that Altoona police had obtained this year, enabling officers to see that McIntire was lying on the floor of the bathroom, hiding, according to Swope and a department Facebook post.

It was the first time officers were able to confirm that McIntire was actually in the house, although they’d been confident of it, based on having arrived quickly after the 911 call and on having been told that McIntire didn’t have family or friends or a car, Swope said.

Shortly afterward, McIntire fired a shot — the reason for which wasn’t immediately clear, although it was apparently not directed at anyone, Swope said.

It seemed to have been “fired upward, through the roof,” according to the Facebook post.

Shortly after the shot, officers entered and arrested McIntire “without incident,” according to the post.

McIntire at that time was cooperative, as far as he knows, Swope said.

“I don’t think we used force to get him into custody,” Swope said.

McIntire was taken to a hospital for mental health evaluation, Swope said, but didn’t know whether McIntire has a history of mental illness.

However, a check by police showed that McIntire was the subject of an active arrest warrant from Iowa for “Threat Explosive or Incendiary Device” issued in September 2024.

The relative was crying during an interview with police after calling 911, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

“I’m glad it came to a safe resolution, and no one was hurt,” Swope said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.