Suspect in custody after hours-long stand-off with cops at Aurora tattoo parlor; no injuries

AURORA | Aurora police have arrested a man involved in an armed standoff at an Aurora tattoo parlor Wednesday morning at South Peoria Street and East Cornell Avenue.

The suspect — later identified as John Arthur Thomas, 36 — was confronted around 4:30 a.m. in regards to a domestic violence charge out of Federal Heights, police said, and he darted into a tattoo parlor.

There were no hostages, police said, and the man was holed up alone inside Planet X Tattoo, 3095 S. Peoria St.

Police throughout the morning described the man as armed and dangerous and said he had made threats to police. Police said after Thomas’ arrest that he was actually unarmed.

Dozens of police officers, including Swat Team officers wearing armor and helmets, surrounded the building at about 7:30 a.m. An armored police vehicle was parked in front of the shopping center.

Businesses and the street were beginning to reopen shortly after the man’s arrest.

Police said the suspect earlier made threats to officers, and that they were negotiating, but as of about 10:30 a.m. police said they weren’t sure if he had responded to attempts to contact him inside the tattoo shop.

Police announced via twitter that the an had been taken into custody peacefully around 11 a.m., more than eight hours after the stand off started. 

It wasn’t immediately clear if the man had connections to the tattoo parlor, said Aurora police Officer Bull Hummel, a spokesman for the department.