NEW CASTLE — A standoff turned deadly in New Castle on Monday night, leaving a sister heartbroken.
"All they had to do was listen to me and he would still be here. But they wouldn't listen to me. They were afraid he would shoot me. I said he's not going to shoot his only sister," said Kelly Ralstin.
State police are investigating after New Castle police shot a man who was barricaded inside his home, with a weapon. Ralstin said one thing led to another and now her brother is gone forever.
"I was 2 years old when my parents moved here. My brother was 4. We were raised here," said Ralstin.
For 55 years, Ralstin and her brother Donnie Guffey Jr. called a house on North 29th Street in New Castle home.
"God, help me please," said Ralstin.
But that sense of comfort and security all changed for her Monday night.
"I talked to him yesterday on the phone and he told me he was having a bad day, and he didn't really feel like talking on the phone and he would talk to me later. I said love you, he said love you too," said Ralstin.
Later Monday night, New Castle police were called to Donnie’s home, by his stepdaughter, about shots fired.
"He had fired two shots in the house, and she was scared and I told her please don't call the police. I'm on my way. I can de-escalate him and get the gun," said Ralstin.
According to Indiana State Police, New Castle police set up a perimeter and helped two individuals safely leave the home. Donnie remained inside. Later, SWAT was called to the scene to help end the standoff.
"A man was depressed, and I understood this, and I was working my brother through this and I could have worked through this last night and he still could be alive to this day if they would have just let me talk to him and let me approach the house he would not have shot me at all he would never have pulled the trigger on me," said Ralstin.
Tuesday, ISP told our Amber Grigley, that Donnie had a firearm and at this time it's unclear what he did with the firearm, but the New Castle SWAT team's response was from Donnie’s actions, and they shot their weapons.
"12 shots through that window and they dropped him right on the other side of the kitchen table in front of the sink. There are remains of his guts and everything on the floor. They promised me that they would use non-lethal. They were going to go non-lethal into the house they promised me that on three different occasions,” Ralstin said. “It did not take 12 shots. All they had to do was throw tear gas or something in there and he would have come right out."
Ralstin said her brother's wife passed in 2019 and he had just lost his job at Grede after working there for nearly 26 years. Donnie had hit a rough patch and was working through it.
"He made everyone around him feel happy and wanted he was a very kind gentle giant that's how I describe my brother. A big teddy bear," said Ralstin.
State police told Amber they are still in the preliminary stages of the investigation.
Once the investigation is complete, state police will turn it over to the Henry County prosecutor for review.
