New Hope, MN – A man held two children hostage in a police standoff that began on Monday night and lasted more than 18 hours.

Police said the standoff began at about 8 p.m. on June 25, when officers were dispatched for a domestic disturbance at a home located in the 7300-block of 62nd Avenue North, KARE reported.

When New Hope police arrived, a woman waiting outside the residence told the officers that her boyfriend was inside the home with her two children, ages two and four, and that he had been making threats against them, according to KARE.

Police set up a perimeter around the home where the suspect had barricaded himself, and brought in SWAT teams and armed tactical vehicles, The Star Tribune reported.

Numerous other police agencies responded to the scene to assist the New Hope Police Department and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office in the overnight standoff, WCCO reported.

Police negotiators tried to establish communication with the hostage-taker via an intercom system for hours, according to WCCO.

Witnesses said they believed the man had a weapon inside the house with the children.

“A guy told me that he heard a man tell him he would shoot a police officer before he comes outside, but he never showed himself out the window. He showed the kid all the time,” Arsinio Jones told WCCO.

Officials have not yet confirmed reports that the suspect had a gun inside the residence, KARE reported.

The man was captured, and the children were recovered unharmed, at about 2:15 p.m., The Star Tribune reported.