Police say seven children were held hostage in a St. George hotel room

ST. GEORGE, Utah — Seven children are safe after police say their father held the kids’ hostage in a hotel room.

St. George Police Department said in a Facebook post that it responded to a domestic violence incident at 11 p.m. on Saturday. When police arrived, they discovered a man and a woman were in a physical fight at the Quality Inn Hotel.

Police said the man, identified as Jonathan Dayzie, was able to get inside of a hotel room and barricade the door after police broke up the fight. Officers said the seven children were also inside the hotel room and Dayzie refused to talk with police.

“It was determined that an aggravated assault, kidnapping, and several other charges occurred between a female and Jonathan,” Police said in a news release. “Jonathan was also actively holding their seven children against their will in the whole hotel room and had threatened to hurt their children as well during the incident.”

A SWAT team was then called in to help aid in the situation, according to the news release. 

“Jonathan would not surrender and SWAT made an energetic breach and gained access to the hotel room,” police said.

Additionally, all people involved in the incident were reported to be seen by medical personnel and no injuries were reported. The seven children were released to their mother, who police say was the woman who was in a physical fight with Dayzie.

Police said Dayzie was taken to a hospital and then transported to jail where he was charged with “aggravated assault X2, kidnapping, unlawful detention, DV presence of children X7, disorderly, child abuse X7, obstruction, interfering and intoxication.”

This is a breaking news story and may be updated as more information becomes available.

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