No charges filed after SWAT team response to Cedar Rapids house

CEDAR RAPIDS – No charges were filed after what was initially believed to be a hostage situation Friday afternoon in Cedar Rapids.

Officers surrounded the house at 219 Seventh St. SW after a 911 call around 2 p.m. Police said a female was whispering, and said she was being held against her will.

A SWAT team with rifles set up outside the house, using shields for cover, as several neighbors watched it all unfold from a distance. The officers ordered the people inside the house to come out, one by one.

Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said four women and a man were taken into custody, but all of them later claimed they were not harmed or threatened. None of them admitted to making the initial 911 call, she said. All were later released.