A scary situation in Blanchester Tuesday morning turned out to be a misunderstanding.
The Blanchester Police Department says a call for a lift assist took a dangerous turn when an EMT was held at gunpoint.
Police say medics were dispatched to a call about a person needing a lift assist around 5 a.m. in an apartment at 901 E. Cherry Street.
The person needing assistance was in apartment D4, police say, but the medics responded to apartment B4.
The emergency crew got a key to the apartment from the apartment management staff and used it to enter the apartment where they say they announced their presence, police say.
The medics were met at the door by a 66-year-old man holding a gun. The man thought the emergency crew was breaking into his home, police say.
Officials said one medic fled down the hallway, the other tried to run but was held at gun point by the tenant who then called 911 to report the intruders.
A Clinton County Sheriff's Deputy was the first to arrive on the scene, police say. They said the officer placed the tenant in handcuffs and into the back seat of her cruiser while police sorted out the situation.
Blanchester police say they arrived on the scene and spoke with witnesses then released the man based on their information.
The resident told officers he and his wife did not call for emergency medical assistance and they did not hear the crew announce themselves, police say. He said he and his wife awoke to the sound of someone tampering with their locks, saying he thought they were being burglarized.
The tenant said he then grabbed his handgun and went to the door where he found the medical crew. He said neither he nor his wife recognized that the crew were emergency personnel.
Police say the man relaxed once a dispatcher was able to convince him that the two people who tried to enter his apartment were emergency personnel.
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