UPDATED, 4:17 p.m.
Scranton Police have arrested a man who they say held his ex-girlfriend captive and pistol whipped her before she was able to escape early Friday.
Michael Scott Wormuth, 43, Carbondale, then set fire to 405-407 Bartel Street after a two-hour standoff with officers before turning a gun on himself, according to police.
The Scranton Police Special Operations Group was deployed within minutes of the reported incident, which happened at 7:22 a.m. in the Providence-section of Scranton.
Residents were displaced from their homes and streets around the incident were closed throughout the day. The Scranton Co-Op Farmers Market was also forced to close.
Officers rescued Wormuth from the burning porch to an ambulance, according to a release. He was transported to Geisinger Community Medicine Center. There was no report immediately on his condition.
Police say they will provide more information as it becomes available.
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Scranton Police responded to call at 7:20 a.m. Friday for a woman being held against her will on Bartel Street in the city.
Officers got the victim to safety, but then began to hear gunshots inside the home in the Providence-area of the city, Scranton Police Lt. Mike Perry said on scene.
“We had our negotiator speak with him, trying to get him out of the house. He would stick his head out the window. At one point he came outside of the house, and then he ran back in. He was making idle threats,” said Perry.
The man inside the house then lit 405-406 Bartel Street on fire, he said.
“He exited the residence holding the firearm. He held the firearm up to his head, and then at one point, he did pull the trigger,” the lieutenant said.
The man injured himself and was transported to the hospital.
Police did not identify either individual.
Perry said Scranton police did not fire any shots.
The Scranton Co-Op Farmers Market, which is across the street from where the incident happened, is closed today, according to a Facebook post.
