A man allegedly armed with a machete or another weapon was arrested Thursday evening after barricading himself in a Canyon Country home for about 5 1/2 hours, prompting evacuations and a lockdown at an elementary school.
Deputies responded to the 274000 block of Plumwood Street Thursday around 3:15 p.m. on a report of a suspect with a weapon near Canyon Springs Elementary School, according to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau. The suspect was determined to be barricaded inside a home across the street from the campus.
The school was placed on a precautionary lockdown, but a district official told the Santa Clarita Valley Signal that all students were safe. Dozens of parents could be seen amassing outside the school gates in hopes of collecting their children.
Several homes were evacuated as a precaution, a sheriff’s deputy said.
Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau personnel — the equivalent of a SWAT team — responded to the scene. The suspect was arrested around 8:45 p.m. and all evacuees were allowed to return to their residences, authorities said.
No injuries were immediately reported.
Anyone with additional information related to the standoff was urged to call the Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Station at 661-255-1121. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.