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May 6, 2008

Standoff defused before anyone is hurt

Dozens of complex�s residents evacuated to Red Cross during morning standoff

By Robb Murray

MANKATO — When it was over, police were more interested in getting help for the man than they were in charging him.

But in the heat of the moment � when Greg Papin�s threats of killing police officers still were fresh in the minds of responding units and police were unsure whether he was holding a hostage � evacuation was urgent.

And that�s what roommates Ryan Hoberg and Justin Larson, and Larson�s girlfriend Jessica Powers and their infant son, Braden, woke to Monday morning.

Papin, 27, reportedly an Iraq War veteran and a part-time law enforcement student at Minnesota State University, had called a crisis line to complain about slow treatment he�d received from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He told the crisis center he was going to �make a stand� in his Glenwood Terrace apartment. The crisis line, in turn, called police.

Papin�s friend Kristopher Pete Rysavy, 24, was with Papin, and police were unsure whether he was there willingly or being held hostage. So when they came to Hoberg and Larson�s room � and the rooms of many others in the complex � police told more than 40 residents there was a hostage situation and everyone had to get out immediately.

�I almost started crying,� Powers said. �I was like, �Oh crap! What are going to do!��

They gathered belongings and were directed to a waiting area. Eventually they were driven by city bus to the Red Cross where they were fed and entertained. By 10:30 a.m. they�d watched �Bee Movie� and were about to watch �Evan Almighty.�

And by 10:45 a.m., it was over.



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