.jpg)
.jpg)
9:30pm SIEGE OVER
September 20, 2022
By Peter Holmes
About 9:30pm on Tuesday night police stormed a house on Peisley Street following a 12-hour siege.
A man was taken from the house.
Around a dozen police, many heavily armed, were in position surrounding a house on Peisley Street in Orange on Tuesday.
Roadblocks were in place on a number of streets including Legacy Avenue and Margaret Street to stop motorists driving past the house, although one witness said police had started their operation well before the road was shut down.
A crowd of around 20 people were gathered at the road block on the corner of Peisley Street and Matthews Avenue to watch the action unfold at about 12pm. By 2:30pm the crowd had swollen to about 40.
Cars slowed down and some even stopped for a few moments to try and make sense of what was going on.
A message was sent to parents and caregivers of children at Bletchington Public School.
"We have been advised by Orange Police if any children live in Peisley Street between Matthews Avenue and Margaret Street and Fox and Legacy Avenue WILL NEED to collect their children FROM SCHOOL gates at 3:25pm.
"These streets are in an exclusion zone and are not open to the public .... Please be assured, the school and students are not affected by this situation, all students are safe."
Witnesses said the siege began on Tuesday morning, though different times were provided.
One woman who lives on Peisley Street said the incident began at about 7am. She said a police officer had told her that a man had been pulled over by police and ran into the house where he was holed up. Again, this cannot yet be verified.
At around noon police made a move towards the front and side of the house.
Officers could be heard yelling through the windows. They were yelling a number of different things, however the sound was muffled by the distance and the noise of the traffic and a timber business.
They appeared to yell "Get your hands up!" and "Yell out if you can hear!", although this cannot be confirmed.
One woman told The Orange News Examiner she had heard a man yell words to the effect: "If I come out you'll shoot me ya dogs".
As the afternoon wore on police in body armour and armed with weapons appeared set to launch a raid on the property, only to retreat back into their positions. This happened on a number of occasions.
Two women were apart from the crowd watching proceedings. At one point police a group of three police walked from the house to the perimeter of the no-go zone to speak with one of the women.
It is thought the siege is related to the Central West Police District's recent search for a man wanted "by virtue of a warrant" on domestic violence and firearms charges, including by helicopter.
Curiously, a Facebook post about the man pinned to the top of the Central West Police District page in recent days seemed to have been removed on Tuesday afternoon.
One witness said they heard police yelling the name "Ethan".
Friends and acquaintances of the man they believed to be inside the house arrived at the scene and stayed for hours.
One said that the house had been occupied by a relative of the man, who passed away in recent days.
The Orange News Examiner has sought comment from Orange Police, however the duty officer was unable to comment as they were busy with this incident.
More to come...
The Orange News Examiner needs your support so we can keep telling stories like this one. You can make a one-off donation or a small monthly pledge at Patreon or PayPal. Even $1 a week will help us to keep doing covering stories. A big thank you to those who have already chipped in!
MORE FOR YOU
"I don't care if you've been to prison, got a tag on your leg, or you wear a $10,000 Armani suit..."
Comments