Parents of a 26-year-old man who called for police to help with their suicidal question why the response turned into a 10-hour standoff instead.

Russell Reeves called police for help when his son threatened to hurt himself, after learning his former girlfriend had called police worried about what he would do to himself, The Boston Globe reported.

When Reeves told officers that his son, Austin Reeves, had said that anyone who came upstairs would get hurt, the way police viewed the situation changed. The department called for backup from a regional SWAT team and other related specialty forces, the Globe reported.

Russell Reeves told the Globe that it was the actions of police, their intimidating show of force, that triggered his son’s self-destructive impulse. Austin Reeves shot himself.

“It was totally preventable,” he said, weeping as he stood outside his house looking up at Austin’s window on Tuesday, the Globe reported. “He wasn’t a criminal. He didn’t have a hostage. This was a kid distressed about a girlfriend, and they turned it into a life-and-death situation.”

Read the full report on The Boston Globe here.