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Chilling handwritten sign spotted in window leads SWAT team to rescue terrified children trapped inside home
Four children were rescued from a home in Florida after one of them held a handwritten sign reading "HELP US" against a window.
Officers from the Kissimmee Police Department responded to the Flora Ridge Condominiums on October 26 after worried family members called cops.
They feared that a 33-year-old man named Andre Janard Smithson was preventing the children from leaving.
Police drone spots children hiding inside the home
According to the Independent, family members raised concerns after an adult woman inside the property contacted her sister and alleged that Smithson was "beating" her.
Loved ones also told police they feared Smithson would not allow the children to leave.
When cops arrived at the home, they tried to contact those inside the residence but received no response.
Officers subsequently deployed a drone, which located four children hiding together in a room.
It was then that one of the children made a desperate attempt to communicate with authorities.
One child "bravely held a handwritten note against the window reading 'HELP US,'" the department explained in a Facebook post.
"The children were able to safely escape the residence while Smithson was distracted."
Suspect surrenders after tense police standoff
Smithson was inside the property's master bedroom with the woman and their five-month-old daughter during the incident.
Police said the 33-year-old communicated with officers by telephone but refused requests to allow the woman or children to leave.
While Smithson was distracted, the four children managed to escape the residence safely.
Authorities continued negotiating with him until he eventually surrendered without further incident.
"With assistance from Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) and the Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT), Smithson eventually surrendered peacefully," police said in a statement.
The woman later told investigators that Smithson had stopped her from leaving by standing in front of the door.
However, she described their argument as verbal rather than physical, contradicting the earlier allegation relayed to the police by her sister.
Smithson also maintained that the dispute had not become physical.
He was charged with false imprisonment and booked on an outstanding active warrant, although police have not publicly revealed what the warrant concerned.
Smithson claimed he wanted to see his daughter before going to jail, per Investigators.
His relationship with the four older children has not been established.
Neighbors react to the rescue
Residents near the condominium complex were left shocked after learning that four children had been hiding inside the property during the police response.
Jonathan Chapman, who lives nearby, told News 6 that he noticed a police presence but had no idea what was happening inside.
"I didn’t step outside or anything; I just looked through the balcony and saw the cops," he said. "It’s heartbreaking for the kids."
Another local resident, William Cosme, said he had always considered the surrounding neighborhoods relatively peaceful.
"It seems like a pretty good area to me. I’ve never seen anything out of the ordinary there," he said.
Cosme was stunned to learn that the incident had required police drones and a SWAT response. "It’s a little bit unsettling," he added.
As a father, Cosme said the picture of the handwritten sign was troubling and that he would want to do everything possible to protect children facing similar circumstances.
Neither Chapman nor Cosme witnessed what happened inside the residence.