New information released in 30-hour Charlotte SWAT standoff

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police released more information about a 30-hour-long standoff that started early Saturday morning.

According to police, 32-year-old Anh Thai was standing outside his home off Griers Fork Drive while threatening neighbors over a megaphone during a mental health crisis early Saturday morning.

Police said they were familiar with Thai, having responded to his home 36 times since 2017. At the time, he had two criminal outstanding criminal processes.

[Previous coverage: Man taken into custody after 30+ hour SWAT situation in Charlotte]

Officers arrived and said the man barricaded himself inside and kept threatening to hurt his neighbors and himself.

SWAT was called around 11 a.m. along with the Community Policing Crisis Response Team. Officers said Thai went to the doorway and brandished a handgun.

He did so again around 5 p.m. and a SWAT officer fired one shot after perceiving an “imminent deadly threat.”

No one was hurt and Thai remained barricaded until Sunday afternoon.

By that time, four CMPD drones and a bomb robot owned by Charlotte Fire Department were allegedly destroyed with a baseball bat.

When Thai surrendered, police said they found two handguns on him.

Following the surrender, he was taken for a mental health evaluation. Any charges will be issued after the evaluation.

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