Armed man threatened to kill family member during abduction, Forest Acres police say
A Columbia man was arrested Monday after abducting a female family member at gunpoint and a showdown with law enforcement officers, the Forest Acres Police Department said.
Claudio DeGregorio, 29, was charged with multiple crimes, including kidnapping/abduction, first-degree burglary, trespassing, possession of a firearm by a convicted violent felon, committing a violent crime wearing body armor, and two counts of discharging firearms into a dwelling, jail records show.
The incident happened in the early morning hours at the Brickyard Village Condominiums in Covenant Crossing, police said in a news release. That’s at 4443 Bethel Church Road, in the area between Forest Drive and Two Notch Road.
At about 5:30 a.m., officers responded to a 911 call from a person who was flagged down by a man who said an armed family member was threatening to kill another family member nearby at the condominium complex, according to the release.
Three officers responded to the scene and found DeGregario outside and armed with a rifle standing with the victim by a truck, police said. In addition to being armed with a rifle, DeGregario was wearing a camouflaged ballistic vest with a string of shotgun shells around his torso, according to the release.
Officers, with their guns drawn, shouted multiple commands to the DeGregario to drop his weapon, police said. DeGregario ignored the commands and shouted back at officers several times: “Y’all are gonna have to shoot me,” before grabbing the victim to force her into the truck, according to the release.
One of the officers used a Taser and struck DeGregario from behind, police said. DeGregario was incapacitated, the victim was freed and officers arrested DeGregario, according to the release.
“Officer Warren utilized cover to make his way around the scene without the suspect seeing him which allowed him to Taser the suspect from behind and end the standoff — without a single shot being fired,” Police Chief Don Robinson said in the release. “There was a tremendous amount of restraint shown by all three officers, and bravery on behalf of Officer Warren, a rookie who graduated from the academy in May.”
Police did not provide Officer Warren’s first name.
Information about what led up to the incident and a motive for the abduction was not available.
DeGregario was medically evaluated and then taken to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, police said. No bond has been set, jail records show.
No other injuries were reported.
“This is a remarkable outcome given the gravity of this situation that could have easily ended in gunfire or worse,” Robinson said. “We believe this shows our community our commitment to advanced training methods and hiring the very best officers to protect and serve the citizens of Forest Acres.”
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This story was originally published August 1, 2023 at 8:39 AM.
