Ronald Kraft

GOWRIE — After an hours-long, tense standoff, a Gowrie man was taken into custody by the Webster County Sheriff’s Office on Friday evening.

According to a release from Webster County Sheriff Luke Fleener, around 2:40 p.m. on Friday, a 17-year-old male reported to deputies that he had been in an altercation with his father and that his father had placed a gun to his head and pulled the trigger, but the gun didn’t go off.

The father, identified as 44-year-old Ronald Kraft, then allegedly told the teenager to get out of the house and fired the handgun toward the teen’s feet.

Law enforcement was dispatched to the home in the 1500 block of 360th Street and made contact with Kraft, who was outside the residence armed with a handgun and making threats toward deputies on scene.

According to the release, deputies attempted to speak to Kraft, but he remained confrontational, refused to put the gun down and then barricaded himself into the house while continuing to make threats toward deputies and threatening suicide by cop.

The Webster County Sheriff’s Office/Fort Dodge Police Department Special Emergency Response Team was activated to assist and brought in the group’s mine-resistant armored personnel vehicle to approach the residence and assist a negotiator with the Iowa State Patrol to convince Kraft to surrender peacefully.

After surrendering without incident, Kraft was transported to UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center for evaluation before being booked into the Webster County Jail.

Kraft is charged with intimidation with a dangerous weapon, a Class C felony; going armed with intent, a Class D felony; and assault with a dangerous weapon, an aggravated misdemeanor. He is being held on a $17,000 cash or surety bond.

The Webster County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Iowa State Patrol, FDPD, Gowrie Police Department, Gowrie Ambulance and Iowa Department of Natural Resources.