Eight members of a family were taken hostage in a private residence in Prince George's County during an incident family members say stemmed from a relationship breakup. Police have not released the name or age of the suspect.

The standoff began at around 10 p.m. on September 14th at a home on Ritchboro Road in Capitol Heights. The suspect's 18-year-old former girlfriend was one of the eight hostages, according to family members who spoke to press. The woman's relatives say the nine-hour long hostage drama began when her uncle attempted to force the gun-wielding man from the home after he "stormed in."

Davon McRae, the woman's brother, described the altercation:

"My uncle tried to put him out of the house, so that's when he got mad, hit him with the gun and closed the door back," said McRae, the victim's brother.
The woman's uncle added:

"I came home with my girlfriend and the guy had everybody hostage," said Tyrone Wright, the victim's uncle. "He eventually let us out of the house, but he took my niece upstairs."

Police set up a command center outside the house, negotiating with the suspect for the entire nine hours while the family was barricaded inside the residence. The situation finally came to an end when the man, who had holed up in an upstairs bedroom, shot himself at around 7 a.m. His ex-girlfriend was able to escape the standoff without injury, and no other injuries other than those to the gunman were reported.

The family said that the hostage situation was the second armed confrontation with the gunman that day. Police were not called the first time because, according to the victim's mother, the suspect apologized and left. Law enforcement officials did not release information about pending charges, and would only say the suspect was in "very critical condition."

This article is presented by Price Benowitz, LLP, serving Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. For more information, please visit our Maryland Criminal Attorneys and Washington DC Criminal Attorney websites.