POCATELLO — An incident where numerous police officers and armored SWAT vehicles responded to a north Pocatello apartment complex ended Monday night with no suspect being taken into custody.

Several police units responded to the Yellowstone Townhouse Apartments just north of the Winco supermarket around 7 p.m. Monday believing there was a man barricaded inside one of the apartments.

Pocatello Police Lt. Tim Dillon told the Idaho State Journal on Tuesday that the department received a report from the woman who was renting the apartment who said she entered the home to see a male estranged family member inside near where her husband stores his firearms.

The woman immediately left the apartment and phoned police, Dillon said.

The initial response to the Yellowstone Townhouse Apartments on the 1000 block of Yellowstone Avenue included Pocatello police patrol officers and state troopers because it was believed the man barricaded himself inside the woman’s apartment.

Around 8:30 p.m. Monday the Pocatello police SWAT team arrived on the scene in its armored vehicle.

Several SWAT team members armed with assault rifles could be seen standing near the armored vehicle in the apartment complex’s parking lot.

More than 15 other police vehicles and three K-9s responded to the incident by 9 p.m. Monday and officers began using a loudspeaker to try to communicate with the man they believed was inside the apartment.

Police also deployed two drones, which could be seen flying above the apartment complex.

Police said they believed the man was alone and potentially armed inside the apartment.

When police entered the apartment around 11:15 p.m. Monday they found it to be unoccupied, authorities said. Dillon on Tuesday said he believes the man fled the apartment prior to the arrival of any police officers.

“Our problem with this entire situation is we had the report of a guy in a residence possibly armed,” Dillon said. “We have no choice but to assume that he was in there, which is why we went as far with it as we did. It took quite a long while because we were trying to make contact with him before breaching the apartment.”

A Pocatello Fire Department ambulance and fire truck responded to the incident, but police said no one was injured and there were no shots fired.

Some residents of the apartment complex were temporarily evacuated by police as a precaution.

The entrances to the apartment complex were shut down by police during the incident and the public was told to stay away until the situation was resolved.

When asked about the response to the incident, Pocatello Police Chief Roger Schei said violence toward police officers is a common occurrence recently and individuals shooting at police officers is at an all-time high.

“With the level of violence across the country, I would rather err on the side of caution, not only for the officers but for the community we serve,” Schei said. “Our No. 1 driving force is preservation of human life. If there is an armed guy with a rifle and he starts firing rounds off the bullets could easily travel through several apartments and put others inside at risk. I understand that people may think this is an overreaction, but when you look at the overall strategic mission of our department I think it was the right decision.”

Dillon said the department is still into possible charges against the man who was reportedly inside the apartment and the investigation into the incident remains ongoing.