COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) - A Nebraska man was hospitalized after a standoff with police that took place Friday at a construction site in Council Bluffs.
Council Bluffs Police said 40-year-old Ryan Linehan of Omaha was arrested after the standoff after he shot himself in the lower jaw. He was in stable condition afterward at an Omaha hospital, and authorities said he was expected to recover.
The standoff began Friday morning when officers tried to arrest Linehan on a warrant for first-degree sexual assault out of Sarpy County, Nebraska. When officers approached Linehan, he ran back to the excavator he had been operating and swung the equipment's bucket at the officers.
Negotiators spent several hours trying to persuade Linehan to surrender before officers fired bean bag rounds and pepper spray at the cab of the excavator. That's when authorities said he shot himself.
Officers removed Linehan from the excavator after he shot himself, and paramedics treated his injuries before he was taken to the hospital.