Tiffin police questioning 3 after early morning standoff, shooting at apartment

24-year-old charged with inducing panic and discharging a weapon in the city limit

11/7/2013

TIFFIN -- Two men and a woman are in custody today after a standoff that closed South Sandusky and Market streets for several hours, Tiffin authorities said.

One of the men has been identified by Tiffin police as Seth E. McMeen, 24. His address was not available.

He is charged with inducing panic and discharging a weapon in the city limits. Police said the other man may be charged.

The detained were being questioned about a shooting early today, according to a written statement released by Tiffin Police Chief Fredrick Stevens about 6 a.m. Police were obtaining search warrants for the apartment where the three had holed up and for gunshot residue tests on all of them.

Police arrived on the scene about 1:50 a.m. today after neighbors reported hearing two to four shots.

Once at the scene, officers saw a man inside the common doorway area; when he saw them, he bolted into what appeared to be the upstairs stairway area, police said. At the same time, officers smelled gun powder at the doorway, according to the statement.

Police then sealed off the area of the apartment building, evacuated several residents from surrounding houses, and called in negotiators.

Between 3 and 4:30 a.m., police used a loudspeaker to talk to the people in the apartment, during which time other apartments in the building were evacuated. At some time, the apartment in question was also "cleared" and the three people were taken into custody, according to the statement. One of them was uncooperative, police said.

The motive was not released. The incident remains under investigation.

Traffic on the affected roads had returned to normal by 6 a.m., according to the statement, and all those who had been evacuated were allowed to return to their homes.

Tiffin, the seat of Seneca County, is about 50 miles southeast of Toledo.