On Sept. 14, 2022, Sioux Falls Police Department patrol officers responded to what originally was dispatched as a 911 hang-up call. Upon arrival, a 5-year-old male answered the door and immediately told officers that his father had killed his mother. Officers spotted the male in the apartment and made entry to investigate the incident. Upon rounding a hallway corner, the officers witnessed the male holding a female hostage with a handgun in a very tactically advantageous for him. Officers retreated to a point of cover and immediately executed a rescue of the 5-year-old male who was in the living room with them. The male suspect then began firing multiple rounds, which pushed the officers out of the apartment with the child. Poor radio issues and a misunderstanding from the 911 center caused an initial delay in what was actually happening inside the apartment getting dispatched to other officers.

Multiple officers began responding to the scene, including members of the SFPD SWAT Team. SWAT Team Commander Lt. Andrew Siebenborn and Senior Team Leader Sgt. Travis Olsen were the first two SFPD SWAT assets to arrive on scene. Due to the accelerated nature of the incident, both initially deployed down range at the target location and were joined by two members of the South Dakota Highway Patrol SWAT Team who just happened to be working in the area on normal patrol. They made a quick ad hoc rescue team with two other patrol officers in case an immediate hostage rescue would be necessary. As the incident unfolded, officers learned a female had been shot and an 8-year-old was in the apartment as well. Concerned for the condition of the female and the safety of the child, a decision was made to conduct a crisis entry into the structure. This presentation will detail the actions taken to attempt a rescue of the female and child, including an explosive breach and hostage negotiations. The time from start to finish of the entire incident was just about an hour. Audio and video from multiple parts of the incident are included in the presentation.