Utah woman and children held hostage for hours in domestic dispute
Dec 14, 2021, 12:16 PM | Updated: 12:27 pm
DRAPER, Utah — A woman and her children are safe after being held hostage at gunpoint by a family member for several hours. According to a statement from the Draper Police Department, they responded to a domestic dispute on Draper Heights Way after an uninvolved family member reported the suspect, 32-year-old William Barnes, had been holding his family hostage while armed with a gun.
Officers were able to make contact with the woman by phone who told them Barnes had a gun on his waist and had threatened to shoot her if she left the home. She told officers that she, along with her two young children, had been held captive in the home for several hours. When at one point Barnes went outside the home, the woman locked him out.
Officers arrived at the home and were able to arrest Barnes without further incident.
Detectives carried out search warrants on the home and suspect’s car finding ammunition, the handgun mentioned, along with other weapons.
Barnes was booked into the Salt Lake County ADC for suspicion of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, and domestic violence in the presence of a child.
Domestic violence resources
If you know someone who is going through abuse, the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465).
Resources are also available online at the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition website.