Pennsylvania man dies after setting house on fire, refusing to leave amid police standoff
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A man is dead after setting his house on fire and refusing to leave amid a standoff with law enforcement in Lancaster County.
In a news release, the Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department said officers were called to a home on High Street in East Petersburg Borough on Sunday night for a domestic incident. Police said that a man inside the home, identified as Mark Hackman, had been drinking, was armed and was threatening to burn the home down.
When officers arrived, the man's wife was seen running out of the house after her husband started a fire inside. He was the only person left inside at the time. In the release, police said officers saw a fire in the back of the home and confirmed Hackman was armed.
They made contact with the 53-year-old man and tried to convince him to leave the home but he refused, police said. He later cut off all contact with law enforcement, the release said.
Fire crews were then called to battle the fire, which began engulfing the home, according to police. After the flames were contained, officers searched the home and found Hackman dead. They also found two guns, police said. His cause of death has not been released.
There were no other injuries, the release said.
"The NLCRPD would like to express our sincere condolences to the family for this terrible loss and difficult tragedy," police said in the release.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.