ROCKLAND — A 35-year-old Rockport man was being held Wednesday at the Knox County Jail after he barricaded himself inside an apartment at the Rankin Center housing complex and threatened to kill the resident, police said.
Public safety crews were stationed outside the Rankin Block in Rockland early Wednesday morning. Stephen Betts/The Courier-Gazette
Mark A. Hupper was arrested around 6 a.m. Wednesday and charged with kidnapping, domestic violence assault and creating a police standoff, according to Rockland police Sgt. Ken Smith.
The standoff ended after a concussion grenade was used and Hupper was taken into custody.
The incident began shortly after 1 a.m. when officers were asked to do a well-being check at the apartment and found Hupper had broken into the residence, barricaded himself in and threatened to kill the woman who lived there, himself and police.
He threatened to slit the woman’s throat if police came inside, according to an affidavit filed in the Knox County Court by Rockland police. Hupper said he had put a chain around the woman’s neck, and she could be heard calling out in pain. Hupper also claimed to have a gun, the affidavit said.
He had earlier posted on Facebook that he planned to either be in jail or dead by the end of the evening, according to the affidavit.
Hupper was taken to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport before being taken to the jail.
The woman was treated at the hospital and released, the sergeant said.
A Maine State Police tactical team, crisis negotiator and Rockland police were at the scene. Rockland fire and emergency medical services blocked roads around the area.
The Rankin Center is a complex with 50 apartments.
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