Update: After 14-Hour Standoff, Man Jumps From Crane
At 1:45 a.m., the man who held himself up in a construction crane over the SMU campus since 11:30 a.m., has jumped from the 150-foot crane, ending a 14-hour standoff with police.
The man was believed to be a suspect in a hijacking by knifepoint in Deep Ellum, but Dallas Police have not confirmed this with Park Cities People.
Update****
Dallas Police have identified the man as Lee Dell Thomas Jr., 44, and have also released these facts behind the incident.
“At about 1:00 am members of the DPD Swat Unit made an attempt to contact the suspect who had barricaded himself inside a crane located in a construction site on the SMU campus. The crane operator’s compartment was approximately 150 foot above ground level. When officers approached the compartment, they found the area surrounding the entry had been covered in grease and the door had been secured in a manner so that it could not be fully opened. As officers attempted to free the door, the suspect began spraying a substance similar to WD-40 toward them and the suspect retreated to a position where he had one leg in and one leg outside a window. The suspect went over the window and clung to the edge for a moment before falling to his death at approximately 1:47 am.”
— Dallas Police Department Media Relations
