Woman Barricades Herself In With Neighbors' Kids, Refuses To Let Them Leave After Sleepover

An Alabama woman barricaded herself inside the bedroom of her Tuscaloosa apartment, refusing to let two children leave after they had a sleepover with her.

Police engaged in an hours-long standoff before breaching through the door and safely rescuing the two boys aged 9 and 10.

Responding officers arrived at The Path of Tuscaloosa complex just before noon after Dasha Sharnell Bishop, 23, refused to let her neighbors' kids return home despite the parents repeatedly knocking on her door Sunday morning, ABC 33/40 reported.

While the neighbors had given the boys permission for the sleepover at Bishop's apartment, they began panicking when the woman refused to open the front door to them in the morning. This is when they called for help and the first responders arrived soon after, the Tuscaloosa Police Department said.

Bishop refused to come to the door when the cops arrived at the scene, police spokeswoman Stephanie Taylor said, according to AL.com. The cops and neighbors suspected the children might be in immediate danger, she added.

The standoff between Bishop and the police went on for hours as two mental health officers, a Youth Aid investigator, and the Special Response Team joined officers at the scene. Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue Service paramedics were also present.

As Bishop remained barricaded in a back bedroom with the two young boys, members of the Special Response Team broke through the front door and managed to bring the children out of the apartment at around 3 p.m local time.

Bishop was taken to the Tuscaloosa County Jail and charged with felony interference with custody. Her bond was set at $15,000, which Taylor said is the maximum amount possible for this charge.

In an unrelated incident reported in August, a 3-year-old girl was rescued from a motel room nearly 10 hours after she went missing from her home in Texas. Holman Hernandez was accused of using a cat to lure the little girl into his vehicle. The 50-year-old man was charged with aggravated kidnapping after the police found him lying in a bed with the child in the motel room. Investigators believe Hernandez and the victim did not have any prior connection before the abduction.