Man Arrested After Waukesha Hotel Standoff Had No Gun: Report

WAUKESHA, WI — A man accused of barricading himself in a Waukesha hotel room wasn't armed when police fired shots inside, according to a report.

An officer from the Waukesha Police Department fired a shot when police heard two "pops" they thought were gunshots coming from Eric Zweifel's room, according to a criminal complaint Fox 6 Milwaukee obtained. Nobody was hurt in the shooting, and when police searched the room they didn't find a weapon.

Zweifel was charged with four counts of threatening police officers, one count of criminal damage to property, one count of resisting arrest and one count of disorderly conduct, according to court records.

Police arrested him after a standoff at the Baymont Inn & Suites, 2111 E. Moreland Boulevard, on April 30.

Zweifel suffers from a mental health condition and the county placed him in the hotel, his attorney told Fox 6 Milwaukee. During negotiations, Zweiffel struck something so hard that officers thought the noise was gunfire, prosecutors said.

The Waukesha Police Department declined to comment on the case.

"Now that the charging decisions have been made and a criminal complaint is in the public domain we will continue to maintain the integrity of the investigative and respect the judicial process by not litigating elements of this case outside of the court room," the police department said in a statement.

"We do not want to influence the public by responding to issues outside of the criminal complaint, that is what the courtroom is for. We would defer all questions to the criminal complaint," police added.

Read the full story at Fox 6 Milwaukee.

See Also: Standoff At Baymont Hotel In Waukesha Ends; Man In Custody