Police arrest man following seven-hour SWAT standoff in Florence

Update: 10:45 p.m. After a seven-hour standoff, the barricaded subject surrendered to the SWAT Team.

Just before his surrender, SWAT Teams members reported heavy smoke and flames had begun to appear from inside of the residence. With no one inside, the residence became partially engulfed with flames, according to a release from the Boone County Sheriff's Office.

The Florence Fire Department was already staged in the area and quickly moved to the residence to extinguish the fire. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Police said Christopher A. Sawyer, 38, of Florence, unlawfully held a woman and her young daughter in the residence on Lakeview Drive for nearly six  hours.

During this time, police said Sawyer, who was armed with a handgun, held the victim at gunpoint and threatened to kill her. The victim made several attempts to leave the residence, but Sawyer blocked the door. At one point Sawyer became distracted which allowed the victim and her daughter to escape and dial 911.