For Hub City Times

LOYAL — A standoff in Loyal has ended with tear gas, gun shots, a bomb squad, and an armored vehicle.

Robert Domine was taken into custody during the 4 a.m. hour, after holing himself in his home Sept. 12 afternoon with a gun. That forced a lockdown at Loyal schools just as students were scheduled to be released. And even though the standoff has ended, officials are still asking community members to avoid the area of East Mill Street.

It started the afternoon of Sept. 11, when Domine was seen driving through Loyal and officers attempted to stop him because of an outstanding Taylor County warrant. Domine led officers on a high-speed chase heading south out of Loyal, and also displayed a handgun out his driver’s side window in the process. The chase ended when Domine entered a field off southbound County Highway Z near Sherwood Road and got stuck.

Domine fled on foot into a nearby wooded area where he eluded officers. Efforts to locate Domine went into the night and Thursday morning. Yesterday afternoon Domine was spotted getting into a logging truck, and while officers tried to locate that vehicle, the Clark County Sheriff’s Department got a call that Domine was back at his Loyal residence.

Officers established a perimeter, and phone contact was made with Domine, confirming his presence inside the home. Several negotiators tried but failed to get Domine to surrender. That’s when Special response teams from Clark County and Marshfield were brought in, along with the Marathon County Bomb Squad. The Marshfield Police Department’s armored vehicle was also used to approach the residence and ask for Domine’s surrender.

After several hours, police fired gas canisters into the house, and the Marathon County Bomb squad sent its robot in, but it was unable to make it up a set of stairs. When officers tried going in through the garage, two gun shots were heard coming from the residence. One officer was transported to the hospital for precautionary measures and is said to be doing fine.

Sheriff’s Departments from Clark, Marathon and Eau Claire Counties all responded to the scene, along with police departments from Loyal, Greenwood, and Marshfield.