Man shot during Anchorage SWAT standoff after allegedly trying to stab 2 officers booked into jail

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The man accused of attacking a woman in Anchorage and trying to stab two police officers during an hourslong SWAT standoff has been booked into Louisville's jail.

Bernard Higgins, 57, is facing a number of charges.

Police said a woman showed up at the Anchorage Police Department shortly after 3 a.m. on Tuesday, July 25, claiming Higgins had attacked her. According to court documents, the woman had severe facial injuries, including a bruised eye that was swollen shut and a cut to her fight hand.

She allegedly told police that she woke up that morning to find Higgins, her ex-husband, crawling into her bed. When she told him to get out, he began punching her in the face, court documents said.

After she spoke with police, the woman was transported to the hospital. According to court documents, she gave police the key to her home, where Higgins was presumably still staying, and permission to go inside.

Police said there was already a warrant out for Higgins' arrest on charges related to vehicle theft out of Boone County, Kentucky.

Officers with the Anchorage Police Department, as well as the Louisville Metro Police Department and the Middletown Police Department then drove to the home on Bellewood Road.

Police said no one answered when they knocked on the door. According to court documents, officers eventually made contact with Higgins through the bedroom door, but he refused to come out.

An arrest report states Higgins stated "multiple times" that if officers entered the room, they would "go to heaven along with him" and he "was not afraid to meet his maker."

At one point, police said he opened the door but refused to show his hands. When he opened the door a second time, police tried to taze him but were unsuccessful.

At that point, police said they obtained a search warrant and called the St. Matthews Police SWAT team to the scene.

When SWAT arrived, they "attempted to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the incident," according to court documents.

St. Matthews Police said Higgins tried to stab two SWAT members with a knife. Police said "an appropriate response to resistance was initiated" and a St. Matthews police officer shot him.

After Higgins was shot, police said officers on scene "rendered first aid immediately" before he was taken to UofL Hospital, where he remained until being booked into Metro Corrections in downtown Louisville on Friday. He's expected to appear in court Saturday morning.

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