On Wednesday night at approximately 7:54 p.m. Merrill Police officers responded to a “man with a gun” call in the 700 block of North State Street.
The reporting party and witness accounts indicated a male had a disagreement with his neighbor. The subject subsequently retrieved a weapon from his residence and then brandished the weapon and threatened to harm the neighbor while on the neighbor’s property.
The suspect eventually went back into his own home where officers attempted contact through various means. As contact was not successfully established with the potentially armed suspect in the residence, Lincoln County SRT (SWAT) was requested and responded rapidly. Lincoln County SRT eventually made entry into the residence and took the suspect into custody without incident. A firearm was later recovered from the residence.
The suspect, identified as 44-year-old Frank Barber of Merrill, was transported to the Lincoln County Jail. Barber was initially charged with recklessly endangering safety, carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct while armed.
The Merrill Police Department was assisted by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department and the Department of Natural Resources in the incident.