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107-year-old man killed in gun battle with SWAT team

Centenarian Monroe Isadore shot at police and was killed when a SWAT team gassed his bedroom and broke down his door. It's unclear what might have set off the confrontation.

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Danny Johnston/AP
This house was the scene of the Saturday shooting death of an elderly man in Pine Bluff, Ark.

A SWAT team in Pine Bluff, Ark., shot and killed a 107-year-old man Saturday during a gun battle in which both sides exchanged fire.

The situation began when local police responded to a complaint. The elderly man, Monroe Isadore, allegedly pointed a gun at two people. Over the next three hours, the situation escalated to the point that a SWAT team gassed the room and broke down the door, resulting in the shootout that left Mr. Isadore dead.

No law enforcement officers were injured.

A public police report does not address the cause of the disturbance, but it states that police arriving on the scene at about 4:30 p.m. "were able to determine that an Aggravated Assault had occurred against two people at the residence," according to a transcript obtained by WTHV-11 TV. Isadore "had pointed a weapon at them," the report says.

Police sent the two people away; the report mentions no injuries. But when police approached the door of the bedroom where Isadore was believed to be, he opened fire through the door. No officers were injured, and the officers called for support.

Supervising officers arrived and began negotiations with Isadore, according to the Pine Bluff Commercial. When a SWAT team arrived on site, it took up tactical positions around the house, the Commerical reports.

By inserting a camera into the room, the SWAT team determined that Isadore was armed. When Isadore refused to surrender his weapon, the SWAT team pumped gas into the room. Isadore responded with gunfire, according to multiple reports.

At that point, the SWAT team entered the room. "Shortly afterwards, a S.W.A.T. entry team, inside the residence, breached the door to the bedroom and threw a distraction device into the bedroom," the police report says. "Isadore then began to fire on the entry team and the entry team engaged Isadore, killing him."

Isadore appeared to have suffered multiple gunshot wounds, Deputy Coroner Eric Belcher told the Commercial. Isadore was pronounced dead at 7:23 p.m.

It is unclear why law enforcement officials determined that gas was needed to force out Isadore after a few hours of negotiation, precipitating the fatal gun battle. 

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