The suspect of an abduction on Jefferson Park Avenue has been taken into custody after an hours-long incident involving both Charlottesville Police and a SWAT team.
An emergency alert was sent out to the University community Sunday at 11:54 a.m. urging students, faculty and staff to avoid the JPA area due to a “police incident in progress.” An additional alert was sent at 3:06 p.m. stating the area was “all clear.”
Police responded to a complaint of disorder in the 2500 block of JPA after receiving a call from a neighbor of the residence where the incident took place.
The suspect, 25-year-old Bryan Silva, is well known online for making videos on Vine and has over one and a half million likes on his verified Facebook page.
The 17-year-old victim, who was able to leave and go to a neighbor’s residence, told police “she had been held against her will by her boyfriend and that he had also threatened her with a handgun. She also told officers that he had threatened to shoot the police,” according to a Charlottesville Police Department press release.
CPD detectives made contact via telephone with Silva, who refused to exit the residence. Due to the presence of a firearm and the nature of the threats made by Silva, police then determined to activate the SWAT team, which stayed on the scene for several hours.
Silva still refused to exit the residence after contact from the department’s crisis negotiation team. The SWAT team “deployed chemical agents into the house,” after which Silva exited and was taken into custody, according to the press release.
Silva was charged with abduction and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and will be held for a bond hearing Monday.
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