Suspect taken into custody following hours long standoff in Higbee

HIGBEE, Mo. (KMIZ)

UPDATE:

The suspect was taken to a local hospital around 12:45 a.m. after law enforcement took him into custody.

According to Randolph County Sheriff's Captain James Alley, law enforcement negotiated with the suspect over the phone before firing pepper bag rounds into the suspect's car.

Alley says the suspect shot himself when law enforcement shot the non-lethal rounds into the vehicle.

The suspect was taken to the hospital with serious injuries from a gunshot to his chest but he is expected to live.

Alley says the victim is confirmed to be Beltz's stepfather.

Randolph County Sheriff Aaron Wilson said Beltz stabbed his stepfather with a knife and hit him with a hammer.

As of Saturday morning, Wilson said both men are still recovering and the stepfather is expected to make a full recovery.

ORIGINAL:

Deputies are negotiating with a man suspected of an assault in Randolph County Friday night.

Randolph County Sheriff Aaron Wilson said deputies are currently trying to speak with a man named Ralph Beltz who they believe stabbed and assaulted a relative with a hammer.

Wilson said Beltz has barricaded himself in a car with a shotgun in the 500 block of North Randolph Street. The public is asked to avoid the area.

The incident started around 7 p.m. with a domestic dispute turned physical.

That's when Beltz allegedly stabbed the victim and hit him with a hammer.

The victim was flown by helicopter to University Hospital in Columbia with serious injuries. However, Wilson said he was told the victim is in stable condition.

Multiple law enforcement agencies are on the scene including the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Moberly Police and the Randolph County Sheriff's Office.

Wilson says the sheriff's office has also been in contact with the Boone County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities have begun evacuating houses in the area and the public is asked to avoid that part of town if possible.

No other injuries have been reported.

Stay with ABC 17 News for more information as it breaks.