JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville Sheriff's Office's SWAT team took a convicted felon into custody after he threatened to harm himself and police in the Riverside area early Tuesday morning.
"We responded to a very dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation this morning," said Lt. Jesse York.
York said police received a 911 call from a home on College Street near Post Street around 5 a.m.
"The information that was received was that there was a young lady, a mother, with a small child of one month," York said. "She locked herself in the residence as a result of having an argument with her live-in boyfriend, who we've now learned is the father of the small infant child."
As a result of the argument, police said, 21-year-old Kaikoa Nakamura (pictured below) became armed with a sawed-off shotgun and threatened to commit suicide.
"We also learned that he walked outside the residence, still armed and threatening not just to commit suicide, but he was also now threatening officers with that weapon in a threatening manner," York said. "It's what we normally would call 'suicide by cop.'"
Officers tried to make contact with Nakamura verbally, but he refused to respond, police said.
"What we do know is this individual is a convicted felon. He has no reason to be in possession of that firearm," York said. "We've also learned that the weapon he was in possession of, a sawed-off shotgun, has been reported stolen from a previous theft incident."
York said police are not yet sure if Nakamura was involved in the theft.
"Our main goal here was to keep containment and to prevent any further threat or harm to the media or the neighborhood," York said.
Police then notified their SWAT team.
"They responded rapidly and quickly," York said. "They were able to contain the area, and the individual was located behind the residence in an alleyway. He was still armed. And however, fortunately he did listen and comply to SWAT officer commands. He was safely taken into custody."
Nakamura was taken into custody just before 8 a.m. and transported to the hospital in an ambulance, but police said no one was injured as a result of the standoff.
"He didn't suffer any physical injuries," York said. "However, because he was complaining of some mental health issues, it was unknown if he had taken any type of substance: medication, pills. So as a precaution, he was transported to the hospital."
Nakamura was charged with possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. He will also be committed under the Baker Act to get a mental evaluation.
"The neighborhood was in danger. Our officers did a fantastic job," York said. "They risked not only their lives, but they put themselves in a position to where they made themselves available to quickly respond to this lady that locked herself in the house, because this individual did have access to the home, and our goal obviously was to make sure that he didn't get access to that home."