Man barricades self after shooting

A gunman barricaded himself in his North Philadelphia home yesterday, setting up a day-long siege that ended with his surrender after almost eight hours of tense negotiations. The man, who was identified as Kyle Hartville by Fox 29 News, had critically wounded local resident Benjamin Garrick, 61, in a dispute over a parking spot that morning. Garrick was shot three times, once in the chest and twice in the leg. As of last night, Garrick was listed in stable condition at Temple University Hospital. Police sealed off the area and attempted to coax Hartville into surrendering by enlisting the aid of family members and the man's church minister. His sister was finally able to convince him that he would not be hurt if he gave himself up and police apprehended him at about 6:30 p.m. Local residents confirmed news reports that Hartville had a history of psychiatric problems, drug addiction and brushes with the law. Garrick was described by residents as a hard-working former city employee who is involved in community service activities. "Every Christmas, he used to collect money to send local kids on vacation to the Poconos," said Emil Reinert, owner of Reinert's Candies at 3441 Germantown Av. "He's a great guy, we all love him." According to residents, the area has been plagued by problems involving parking disputes for quite some time. Reinert, who owns three townhouses on Tioga Street opposite the gunman's home, said that there have been at least three violent parking disputes in the last week alone. "We often hear them fighting," Reinert said. "There has always been a parking problem and I can see how these people can get violent." Reinert added that the local community has been asking for an increased police presence, but said the city has been slow to respond. Jim Pittman, a local minister who volunteered to help talk the gunman out of his house, said the incident was inevitable because city police "did not care." "They must learn from this incident," he said. "We will not tolerate this any longer." The Associated Press contributed to this article.