A police officer escorts a woman out of Bainbridge Circle to a safer area around noon Sunday where a man held a standoff with police throughout the morning. The man had refused to leave his home following a domestic disturbance early Sunday morning. The man surrendered around 12:30 p.m. and was taken to the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center for questioning.

Police officers check their equipment before entering Bainbridge Circle around noon Sunday, where a man held a standoff with the police throughout the morning. The man had refused to leave his home following a domestic disturbance early Sunday morning. The man surrendered around 12:30 p.m. and was taken to the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center for questioning.

Andrew Lutton was sleeping on a couch in a friend’s townhouse early Sunday when he was awakened by screams.

“I was hearing a female next door scream bloody murder,” Lutton said.

Lutton later watched as Lawrence police surrounded the townhouse in the 3000 block of Bainbridge Circle in what became an 8 1/2 hour standoff. It ended peacefully at 12:30 p.m. when a 26-year-old man walked out and surrendered to police.

Police were sent to the townhouse at 4 a.m. to investigate a 911 hang-up call, according to a news release issued after the incident.

A woman told the first officers to arrive that she was the victim of domestic battery. The man remained in the house with three children and refused to leave. Police said they had been told there were guns in the residence.

More officers were sent to the area, including some who had been off-duty, police said. The Douglas County Emergency Services command post van was brought to a nearby parking lot at the southeast corner of Lawrence Avenue and Sixth Street. Police blocked off Bainbridge at Lawrence Avenue.

Lutton said he also knew the suspect had weapons, including an assault rifle and apparently a knife.

“We could hear the police yelling, ‘Please, put down the knife,'” Lutton said.

The children, ages 3, 5 and 8, were released unharmed at 10:45 a.m., according to police. They were not injured, said Police Chief Ron Olin, who was at the scene.

During the standoff, police talked to the man by telephone and tried to negotiate his surrender, Olin said. There were also times when police were unable to get the man to respond to calls, Olin said.

After his surrender the suspect was taken in for questioning. An investigation was continuing late Sunday and police released no information about an arrest. They said more details would be released today.

Police have yet to confirm the name of the suspect, but neighbors identified him as Joshua David Smith. A man by that name was booked at 12:28 p.m. Sunday on charges of domestic battery, endangering a child and intimidating a witness or victim.

Before the incident ended, Lutton said he and a friend asked police if they could leave the building.

“We were kind of getting scared,” Lutton said. “The police escorted us outside.”