A tense four-and-a-half hour standoff Friday night between an Oklahoma man who was holding his two young children hostage and law enforcement in Great Bend ended without shots being fired and the suspect being taken into custody. The man, Chris Solida, was wanted in Oklahoma for allegedly shooting and wounding his wife, Brandy Solida.
Over 35 officers from the Great Bend Police Department, Barton County Sheriff’s Office, Kansas Highway Patrol and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation descended on the area surrounding the parking lot between Perkins Restaurant and the Best Western Angus Inn, 2920 10th St., at about 6:30 p.m. Friday. Using cars, barricades and personnel, they cordoned off a multiple-block area surrounding the scene, and evacuated motel guests, and nearby business operators and customers.
Crowds of onlookers, some who had been trapped in the businesses when the blockades went up, watched as the flashing red and blue lights painted buildings. The only vehicles on the nearby streets were those used by law enforcement.
This meant 10th Street was closed and traffic had to be diverted.
Officers with assault rifles were ready and tactical teams were poised to move if necessary.
After hours of negotiating with BCSO Detective Sgt. David Paden, Solida surrendered to officers at about 11 p.m., said Great Bend Police Chief Cliff Couch in a news conference late Friday. Solida had his two children, one 6 months and the other 2 years old, in the vehicle with him and they were taken to Juvenile Services for protective custody.
Solida was booked early Saturday morning into the Barton County Jail on charges involving the shooting of his wife in Woodward County, Okla., Couch said. There will also be charges resulting from the incident Friday night.
Couch said the alleged shooting had taken place late Friday afternoon and the first alert was sent to law enforcement at 5:45 p.m. An off-duty officer from Ness County spotted Solida’s vehicle in Great Bend and reported it.
Couch said that is when the talks began. “We tried to bring a little bit of order to the chaos.”
A portable floodlight stand was brought in to illuminate the parking lot.
They planned for the worst in case there was shooting.
“We always want violence to be absolutely the last resort. That’s doubly true when there’s a situation like this when there are children involved.”
The kids shaped how the officers responded to the situation, Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir said. “It changes the dynamics of how you approach the vehicle and how we react with the suspect. That is why we took our time.”
They didn’t want to agitate the suspect and push him over the edge, Bellendir said.
As for the resolution of the incident, “I don’t know that I could find the words,” Couch said. “If you are in this line of work long enough, you see enough times that it doesn’t work out right and that weighs on your mind.
“We were definitely doing some praying tonight that it would turn out this way,” Couch said. He thanked the agencies involved and others who came out and helped for their cooperation.
Brandy Solida was transported to a hospital in Oklahoma City, and as of 11:30 p.m. Friday, she was still alive, Bellendir said. However, no further updates were available on her condition as of Saturday night.