Barricaded man taken into custody

A man who spent hours locked in a Forsyth County home has been taken into custody.

A woman called 911 in the early-morning hours Tuesday, saying her ex-boyfriend attacked his current girlfriend, Forsyth Sheriff’s Capt. Tim House said. He said the suspect had been identified as 28-year-old Scott Whelchel.

Officers were told that Whelchel was holding his girlfriend hostage in a home on Burrus Mill Road, House said. Deputies said he had a shotgun inside.

Forsyth County sheriff’s deputies and SWAT team members went to the scene and tried to talk Whelchel down. By 11 a.m., deputies used an explosive device to knock down the door, and they used a Taser to take Whelchel down.

Whelchel was hospitalized for minor injuries. He was also charged with false imprisonment and terroristic threats. Deputies later said Whelchel is on the state sex offender registry list since 2006 when he was convicted of statutory rape.

Burrus Mill Road was closed while authorities investigated but has since been reopened. Neighbors who were evacuated as a precaution have been allowed back into their homes.