Armed Suspect Prompts Lockdown At South Bay Childcare Center

SUNNYVALE, CA — A South Bay childcare center went on lockdown earlier this week amid the search for an armed suspect, the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety said in a news release.

The lockdown was lifted after authorities arrested Joseph Quick Bear Alvarado, 28, on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and resisting an officer, among other charges, authorities said. He was subsequently booked into Santa Clara County Jail.

On Wednesday at 8:17 a.m., officers received a call from a security guard at a shopping center at 150 E. El Camino Real about a man who had been caught stealing alcohol from a Safeway store.

The security guard told police he was admonishing the man for trespassing when the man asked the security guard if he was armed with a firearm and removed a knife from his belt, public safety officials said.

The suspect then walked toward the security guard while making slashing motions before turning away and fleeing the scene.

Responding officers received a report a man matching the suspect's description seen slashing tires in the parking lot of the Bright Horizons childcare center at Remington Drive and Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road, public safety officials said.

The childcare center went under lockdown.

Officers located the suspect near the Sunnyvale Community Center and authorities said he became aggressive.

Officers ultimately used a Taser stun gun on him, and he was taken into custody.

— Bay City News contributed to this report