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Suspect surrenders following standoff

TORONTO — An armed standoff at a state Route 213 residence ended with the surrender of a man who shot his wife and threatened his mother-in-law.

Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla said this morning 43-year-old Brian Riggle was taken into custody and will face charges today.

The standoff took place at 5900 state Route 213 near Toronto.

According to Abdalla, Riggle had been drinking earlier Thursday evening and then was involved in an argument with his wife.

“He shot his wife in the left ear lobe with a 9mm handgun. The bullet then traveled down into her shoulder and exited from her back. She ran into her mother’s room and told her mother she needed to go to the hospital because her ear was bleeding,” related Abdalla.

“Riggle then entered his mother-in-law’s room with an AK15 and hit her in the arm with the rifle. At that point, his wife ran from their house to a neighbor’s residence and that is when the call came into our office. Our department, along with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Toronto Police, responded to the scene,” continued Abdalla.

He said Riggle told his mother-in-law he was going to kill her and everyone else, including the officers.

“The mother-in-law was able to run out of the house when Riggle heard the police arrive,” said Abdalla.

“When he heard the police arriving outside of his house he put on a bulletproof vest. Lt. Joe Lamantia of the sheriff’s department talked to Riggle for at least 15 minutes before he convinced Riggle to come out of the house. Riggle then walked out of the front door wearing his bulletproof vest and carrying the AK15 pointed up,” said Abdalla.

“It was a very dangerous situation for everyone. Lt. Lamantia continued to talk to Riggle, who finally lowered the weapon and surrendered to the officers at the house. They found 30 rounds of ammunition in the AK15 and two full ammunition clips on the back of his belt,” said Abdalla.

“We found a number of weapons in his house in addition to the AK15, including five automatic handguns, a semi-automatic shotgun and three other shotguns. I talked to Jefferson County Prosecutor Jane Hanlin earlier this morning and she will decide on the charges to be filed against Riggle today,” the sheriff remarked.

“Riggle’s wife was taken to Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment and is expected to be released today. The mother-in-law was taken to the hospital for precautionary measures because Riggle had hit her with the rifle and she had high blood pressure,” Abdalla said.

“This could have been a very terrible situation. But all of the law enforcement officers acted very professionally and did an awesome job. I am just very glad no one was seriously hurt or worse,” stated Abdalla.

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