Police ended a standoff of more than seven hours shortly before midnight Thursday when they stormed an apartment building on Hollingsworth Street and arrested a resident who allegedly had threatened violence. Neighbors and the man’s landlord identified the suspect as Michel Jordan Shirley, 35. Shirley was brought from the building around midnight, minutes after about 10 or 11 loud bangs rang out from the building, apparently from tear gas canisters or other devices intended to flush him out. A police SWAT team had been called in several hours beforehand. All of the other residents of the apartment building at 2108 Hollingsworth St. either escaped without incident or were not home when the incident started. New Kensington and state police were unavailable for comment at the scene. Matt Meerdo, who lives in the apartment building, said he was returning from shopping with his fiancee and her daughter about 4:45 p.m. when they got into an altercation with Shirley. Meerdo said his fiancee, Cristen Walker, went up to their apartment with her daughter and called the police when Shirley allegedly threatened Meerdo with violence. “He went into his room and came out with what looked like a gun pressed against his stomach,â€? Meerdo said. “I couldn’t see the whole thing, but it looked like a black handgun, and I know he has guns. When he heard (Walker) on the phone, he closed the door and locked himself in.â€? Shirley was arrested last March 31 in Tarentum, where he was accused of pointing a 9 mm pistol at a bartender inside Ziggy’s Lounge. Police said the bartender refused to serve him another drink because he appeared drunk. Shirley is awaiting trial on charges of recklessly endangering another person, simple assault, fighting and public drunkenness. Meerdo said one of Shirley’s roommates left the apartment building shortly after the incident. Once police arrived within the next 15 minutes, Meerdo said, an officer brought a ladder to the back window of their apartment and got the three residents out safely. State police from all over the region descended upon the scene and, according to spectators, received no response from Shirley for hours. At around 11:20 p.m., 10 bangs believed to be from flashbang grenades or tear gas canisters rang out within a two-minute timeframe around the house as police made demands on a loud speaker. Three more bangs rang out around 30 minutes later, followed by three more shortly after. At around 11:50 p.m., an officer on scene confirmed that Shirley was in custody. Joe Garcia, the building owner and Shirley’s landlord, said Shirley houses two other tenants without his permission. He has had problems with Shirley in the past, he said. “He’s been in here for about three years,â€? Garcia said. “This happens when they drink and he has plenty of guns. Hopefully, no one is hurt.â€? Shirley is believed to have worked at the state prison in Pittsburgh since at least 2011, according to his public Facebook page. He was deployed to Iraq as a staff sergeant, and said on Facebook that he served in the infantry. Braden Ashe is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724- bashe@tribweb.com. Email Newsletters TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox.