NEBRASKA CITY – A standoff with a 41-year-old armed man in Palmyra ended peacefully Wednesday afternoon.

Otoe County Sheriff Colin Caudill said deputies made sure the occupants of the house were safe upon arrival around 3:30 a.m., so deputies were able to give the man time to surrender.

Caudill: “The male was armed with firearms and there were threats made to law enforcement with those firearms.”

Sheriff Caudill credits a Nebraska State Patrol SWAT team for helping to secure the area and negotiators for the peaceful resolution after about nine hours.

Caudill: “The state patrol negotiators did a good job speaking with him. There were several, a few other people spoke with him, and they did a good job of talking him out.”

An area around Palmyra’s Taggart Park was closed off and the school in Palmyra ordered a two-hour late start after learning of the standoff.

Sheriff Caudill said he had hoped the stand off would end earlier.

Caudill: “I was hoping that early this morning, when I was notified, that the deputies would have a peaceful resolution, but that’s not always in our hands. When it comes to the end of the day everything turned out the way that we hoped.”