Violence was averted downtown Wednesday when an Army veteran holding a gun to his head and threatening to kill himself was convinced to surrender to police negotiators, ending a three-hour standoff.

Scroll down for video

Torrance Rickanta Burnett, 23, a Vicksburg native who served in Iraq, held police at bay starting at about 9:30 a.m., standing with a Hi-Point 9-mm pistol near the south wall of the Warren County-Vicksburg Public Library on the south side, between Washington and Walnut streets.

Burnett’s mother, aunt and other family members stood nearby as Vicksburg police and negotiators from the Jackson Police Department talked Burnett into giving up his gun and surrendering.

“We were able to resolve it without any gunfire,” Vicksburg Police Chief Walter Armstrong said. “No one got hurt. He never engaged any of the officers. This is the outcome we like. We had very professional individuals on the scene.”

Burnett was taken first to the Vicksburg police station a block from the standoff scene and later to the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Veterans Administration Medical Center in Jackson.

“We just kept talking to him,” said police Lt. Bobby Stewart. “He kept going back to issues related to his two tours of duty in Iraq, some post-traumatic stress, and we told him we would get him some help.”

Burnett is a veteran of the 132nd Cavalry Division, Stewart said. He was discharged in May.

The standoff started minutes after Burnett was convicted of a second charge of domestic abuse in the municipal courtroom at police headquarters. Burnett’s previous conviction a few weeks ago had resulted in a 10-day suspended jail sentence, Armstrong said, and the second conviction resulted in an order to undergo counseling. Charges from a third domestic abuse case were pending this morning.

Police surmise that after the hearing, Burnett retrieved the gun from the family’s vehicle, which he’d driven to the station.

Burnett’s girlfriend was talking with police in the station’s back parking lot when Burnett began to approach, Stewart said. Knowing there was a restraining order against him, an officer moved toward Burnett, who ran west toward Central Fire Station and the library. The officer tackled him, but Burnett took the gun from his pocket and put it to his own head.

Emmanuel Coleman, a truck driver with R&L Carriers, was making a delivery to Katz Brothers, a Walnut Street business across from Central Fire Station. “Ten or 12 police cars came all at one time,” Coleman said, with sirens wailing. Police got out with their guns drawn, and then more police vehicles arrived, he said.

Throughout the morning, cars from the Vicksburg police, Warren County sheriff’s department, drug court, county constable and city safety departments were parked on Walnut Street, blocking access to the library and fire station from both ends of the block.

About 10 to 15 people in the library were kept there for their safety, and other patrons and library personnel arriving for work were told by police to leave the area.

Police and city safety workers diverted vehicle traffic and prevented pedestrians from entering the area. Washington and Depot streets also were blocked.

Stewart said investigators were still tracing ownership of Burnett’s gun. The chief credited the Jackson police negotiators with talking Burnett into surrendering, but said family members had also been called in and had spoken with Burnett by cell phone. Two soldiers also arrived to see if they could help, Stewart said. They spoke with police and family for about an hour.

Mayor Paul Winfield went to the scene, donned an armored vest to join the police group and later offered his thanks to the Jackson Police Department for sending the negotiators. He said he was “jubilant” at their success.

“It’s always difficult when you have a situation where a life is on the line, especially a young person,” Winfield said. “I’m just glad it worked out the way it did.”

The mayor also thanked the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations and the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol for assisting.

Armstrong was unsure if charges would be filed against Burnett. “Our main concern is getting him some help,” he said.

•

Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com