Elizabethton Police Department arrested Nathaniel Effler, 33, around 6:30 a.m. on Monday after barricading himself and another male subject in an apartment. He was charged with aggravated assault, with other charges pending relating to the standoff.

On Sunday, officers of the Elizabethton Police Department responded to Walgreens to investigate a report of a domestic assault that had occurred on Bluefield Avenue. Upon investigation, officers learned from the victim that her son had been staying with her for the past two days, and upon asking him to leave multiple times, he refused to leave. Earlier on Sunday, the victim stated that her son became irate and started cursing her, threatening to kill her, brandishing a knife and holding it to her throat. She then advised she ran from him and locked herself in her bedroom and he then continued to threaten to kill her and used the knife or another object to open the door. The victim then stated that her son attempted to set the apartment on fire by igniting a pan of grease. The victim contacted another family member to take her away from the apartment.

After the victim left the apartment, her son began sending her threatening messages. The son was identified as Nathaniel Effler, 33. An arrest warrant was obtained for the suspect charging him with aggravated assault. At about midnight on April 17, EPD officers and Carter County Sheriff’s deputies went to the apartment to attempt to arrest the suspect on the warrant. The suspect barricaded himself along with another male subject in the apartment. Officers evacuated other residents of the apartments and activated the EPD Special Response Team and requested assistance from the Johnson City Police Department crisis negotiation team. Negotiators established contact with the suspect and the hostage was released at about 4:30 a.m. Negotiations continued and the suspect surrendered to officers at about 6:30 a.m. There were no injuries involved in the incident. The suspect was transported to the Carter County Jail.