Hours-long standoff in San Gabriel ends with suspect fatally shot by law enforcement
SAN GABRIEL, Calif. (FOX 11) - An intense standoff in San Gabriel has ended with an armed suspect being fatally shot by law enforcement officers Thursday afternoon.
The hours-long standoff began at about 12:30 p.m. in the 2000 block of Brighton Street when San Gabriel police were called to investigate a report of a family dispute. An exchange of gunfire then occurred between the arriving officers and the suspect. The suspect then retreated inside the home.
Police closed off the area of Saxon Avenue and Brighton Street as well as the westbound 10 freeway from San Gabriel Boulevard to Del Mar and evacuated nearby homes.
A SWAT team from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department assisted with the situation.
Shortly after 4:30 p.m., smoke and flames from a fire were seen coming out from the home where the suspect was holed up. Flames soon spread to nearby trees as firefighters began focusing efforts to put out the fire.
The suspect was seen running out from the back of the burning home and made his way into a second home next door where he began setting off fireworks.
Aerial footage from SkyFOX showed SWAT team members loading residents from the home next door into the Bearcat to be evacuated from the area.
At one point, the suspect was seen underneath a vehicle holding a handgun. He then made his way back to the second home, believed to belong to a relative, before an unmanned law enforcement vehicle broke through a side window of the house and appeared to introduce gas into the home.
Soon after, the suspect was seen at a doorway with a shotgun unwilling to surrender despite attempts from Sheriff's crisis negotiators to convince him to do so.
That's when he was fatally shot by law enforcement officers, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.
The eastbound 10 freeway at San Gabriel has reopened as of Thursday evening after being briefly closed at the height of the house fire and standoff. A portion of the westbound 10 freeway was also reopened. A full freeway reopen is expected later Thursday night.
The area of Saxon Avenue and Brighton Street will remain closed until further notice. Residents with identification who live along Strathmore will be allowed to walk into the neighborhood, city officials said. No vehicles will be allowed into the neighborhood until further notice.
The suspect's identity has not yet been released.
No further details were immediately known.