UPDATED: Police Respond to Standoff at Hillside Gables in Mendota Heights

THIS INFORMATION WAS UPDATED AT 10:41 P.M.

A stair-climbing robot from the Bloomington Police Department is on the scene where a man with a gun refuses to leave his Hillside Gables townhome on Lexington Avenue in Mendota Heights.

The robot can be used to clear the home, according to Mendota Heights Police Chief Mike Aschenbrener.

A woman called Dakota County dispatch around 4:30 p.m., reporting a domestic assault situation. She said that the suspect was getting a gun.

The suspect has been identified as Donald Paul Richardson, born March 4, 1969, according to a statement released by the MHPD.

The woman left the unit with a child, and both are safe.

The Dakota County Sheriff, State Trooper, Hastings, Apple Valley, Inver Grove Heights, Rosemount, Farmington, South St. Paul, West St. Paul and Burnsville police departments are among those lining Lexington Avenue.

A MAAG (Mutual Assistance Aid Group) team, akin to SWAT, arrived just after 5:30 p.m.

Police were on the scene in less that two minutes, said the chief.

All residents of the complex have been evacuated, which began at about 4:45 p.m., according to an onlooker.

The suspect is believed to be in the townhome by himself. He has not made contact with police as of about 9 p.m.

Gas canisters were used to send in a “throw phone” and a camera in an attempt to make contact.

A perimeter has blocked off access to the area.

According to the DCC, calls to the residence over the past two years have been for domestic disturbance, crisis and medical response.

Hillside Gables is a Dakota County Community Development Agency program site for families.

Residents of the complex and onlookers are gathered at the parking lots of 3M and Lexington Heights Apartments. Many of them can't get to their cars.

Hillside Gables resident Lisa Haymon was returning from the store when she learned that her kids were being evacuated.

Another man visiting from California said he just went to the gas station to get cigarettes, and when he returned he could no longer get to his daughter’s house.

Inver Grove Heights resident Jesse Klein was sent to the complex to pick up a grass mower for his father-in-law’s company, but isn’t allowed in. He said he intended to stay “as long as it takes.”

Through traffic has been completely blocked off and drivers should find alternate routes.

“It’s gonna be a while,” said Aschenbrener. “We will practice patience as long as there’s nothing dynamic about what’s going on.”