A man who fired a shot into an apartment in the unincorporated Westmont area of Los Angeles County, then barricaded himself inside that unit and held a sheriff’s SWAT at bay for around six hours, was taken into custody Monday, authorities said.
“Armed suspect in custody. West 97 Street reopened. Neighborhood Safe,” sheriff’s officials tweeted from the scene at about 4:50 a.m.
The suspect could face charges including assault with a deadly weapon and shooting into an inhabited dwelling, a sergeant at the scene said.
Officials at the scene said a woman who was in the apartment with the suspect was detained for questioning.
Crisis negotiators responded to the scene along with a sheriff’s SWAT team but the suspect did not answer the telephone, Deputy Tracy Koerner of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. The woman answered the phone once about midnight, a sheriff’s sergeant said.
Surrounding homes and apartments were evacuated for the safety of residents, Koerner said.
Reports from the scene indicated the barricade may have stemmed from a dispute between two women, and one left the scene early on.
The suspect opened fire in the apartment about 11 p.m. Sunday in the 1300 block of West 97th Street, Sgt. V. Bolder of the South Los Angeles sheriff’s station said.
No injuries were reported, he said.
Diversionary flash bang grenades were deployed in an effort to get the man out of the apartment, according to reports from the scene.