Two men are in police custody after a SWAT team standoff Saturday afternoon when they barricaded themselves in an apartment bathroom with three women and a child, Bismarck police said.

The standoff happened after police received a call at around 3:30 p.m. from a man who said he had been assaulted at a Unistop gas station in Bismarck, said Sgt. Scott Meyers.

Police then went to the Cottonwood Apartments, 2020 S. 12th St., to confront the men allegedly involved in the assault.

When police confirmed that the men were inside an apartment, the men barricaded themselves in the bathroom with the three women and a 3-year-old girl, Meyers said.

Police negotiators were called to the scene at about 4:30 p.m. When negotiations failed, a SWAT team entered the apartment bathroom at around 6:30 p.m. The men, who are brothers, were unarmed and had outstanding warrants, Meyers said.

Nobody was hurt in the process, Meyers said, adding that the men had allegedly been drinking alcohol.

He said the women were being interviewed Saturday night and are being treated as victims. The child is the daughter of one of the women, Meyers said.

Meyers said one brother, Christopher K. Rainbow, 22, had a warrant issued for his arrest by the U.S. Marshal for assault charges in Fargo. The other brother, Jordan I. Rainbow, 20, was wanted on minor in consumption charges in Bismarck.

Meyers had no further details as of press time.

As for a motive, "I believe they just didn't want to be taken into custody," Meyers said.

(Reach reporter Brian Duggan at 223-8482 or brian.duggan@bismarcktribune.com.)