Man charged with murder after rooftop stand-off in Tamworth, northern NSW

Farid Farid
AAP
A man has been charged with murder after a rooftop stand-off with police in Tamworth, NSW. (HANDOUT/Daniel Pizarro)
A man has been charged with murder after a rooftop stand-off with police in Tamworth, NSW. (HANDOUT/Daniel Pizarro) Credit: AAP

A man who allegedly stabbed his friend before climbing on top of a roof in a tense stand-off with police has been charged with murder.

Emergency services were called to a home at Tamworth, in northern NSW, about 4.30pm on Saturday, when they found a 47-year-old man suffering critical head injuries and a 55-year-old man allegedly armed with a knife.

The older man locked himself in a bedroom before climbing onto the roof of the two-storey unit block, police said.

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Officers and tactical teams were negotiating with the armed man to come down before he fell off the roof.

Social media footage showed the man behaving erratically, running from side to side and throwing tiles to the ground as officers tried to place a ladder against an eave so they could reach him.

He was treated by paramedics for stab wounds to his chest before being taken to a local hospital under police guard in a serious but stable condition.

The younger man was treated by paramedics but later died in hospital.

The 55-year-old was later charged with murder and refused bail to appear in Newcastle Local Court on Monday.

Police on Sunday defended the use of non-lethal weapons, including a Taser and beanbag rounds, in an attempt to get the man off the roof.

The use of force was necessary to prevent the man from harming himself and others, investigators said.

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