Man in custody after making threats, barricading himself in apartment complex: SPPD

Barricaded St. Petersburg man surrenders to police

A man who had barricaded himself in his St. Pete apartment after making threats on social media platforms is now in custody. FOX 13's Ariel Plasencia gives us the details. 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The St. Petersburg Police Department has taken a man into custody after he barricaded himself at the Vantage Point Apartments in St. Pete.

What we know:

According to SPPD, Keith Rackett, 33, called threats into the Police Communications Center and had made several threatening statements on social media.

A standoff began after Rackett barricaded himself at the Vantage Point Apartments.

An official said the situation started when officers attempted to serve a warrant on Rackett for the threats he made.

It is believed he saw the officers coming and barricaded himself inside.

"He called the comm center, and then he started making more threats to the officers that were here," said St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway. "Then he got on the phone, and he said he was going to kill his roommate who was there also. He barricaded himself inside."

This all happened while Rackett's adult male roommate was at home.

"He just barricaded himself inside the house with his roommate," Holloway said. "And he wouldn't let the roommate out of the home."

Timeline:

A standoff between the suspect and officials lasted around 5 hours, according to SPPD. Negotiators got into contact with Rackett at 12:30 p.m.

A few hours into the situation, the SWAT team was called in to assist.

"Patrol officers came first, and then once they got here they realized what the situation was, so that's when we notified the SWAT team, because they have better tools, they can do more things than a regular patrol officer," Holloway said.

SPPD says Rackett is in custody and his roommate is safe and unhurt.

"We want this type of resolution on every type of call. We want to be able to make sure we can bring the person out so we can give that person the help they need," Holloway said. "But also, most importantly, we want to make sure that we help that victim that's inside that home. That's our number one goal."

What we don't know:

It's unclear what the extent of the charges will be against Rackett. Police did not share if the suspect had a weapon at the time of the incident.

What's next:

This is an ongoing investigation. Updates will be released as they become available.