"He was the only person inside of the room. There were initial reports that there may have been a female inside the room that was held custody. We were able to quickly dispel that," said Daytona Beach Police Deputy Chief Jakari Young.
The hotel was evacuated as a precaution.
HAPPENING NOW: @DaytonaBchPD have evacuated the Ocean Breeze Hotel. Officers tell us someone barricaded himself inside his room. Neighboring hotel guests tell me it all started around 3am - they could hear the man incoherently yelling and moving furniture onto his balcony. #WFTV pic.twitter.com/HenBCajhbY
— Megan Cruz (@MeganWFTV) September 21, 2019
Investigators identified the man as David Allen, 45, of Atlantic City.
Around 1:30 p.m., officials arrested Allen after he reportedly asked them for a soda. They brought him one, placed it outside his room, then shocked him with a Taser when he came out to get it.
"We sat the Coke outside in the hallway, and we convinced him to come out and grab the Coke, at which time we were able to tase him and then safely get him into custody," Young said.
Investigators say they finally arrested him because he asked for a soda. They bought one, placed it outside his room, then tased him when he came out. Police have cleared the scene. Workers and guests are now allowed back in. @WFTV #WFTV #breaking pic.twitter.com/FbyB9ePOfO
— Megan Cruz (@MeganWFTV) September 21, 2019
Investigators said they found a grenade with him but it was a dummy. He did not have a hostage in the room with him, according to officials.
#BREAKING: here’s video of @DaytonaBchPD walking the suspect out. Investigators say he’s David Allen from Atlantic City. They did find a grenade with him, but it was a dummy. They say he did not have a hostage with him in the room. @WFTV #WFTV pic.twitter.com/inbMwDeFT0
— Megan Cruz (@MeganWFTV) September 21, 2019
"Realistically, he was no real threat, but we still had to take the necessary precautions just to be on the safe side," Young said.
Officers were able to use a drone to get a vantage point that they would not be able to get otherwise.
"He would move from the room to the balcony. He'd pop out into the hallway, back into the room, back onto the balcony, but he was never freely roaming about the hotel," Young said. "The drone also helped figure out the grenade. We were able to zoom in on it, and we could see it in his hand and we can see that it was hollowed out at the bottom."
Police cleared the scene, and workers and guests were allowed back inside the hotel.
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