Community Corner
Man Who Reportedly Shot at Deputy Surrenders
Mother of two young boys says man apparently tried to force his way into her unit on Holly Avenue between 13th and 14th streets.
A man who reportedly shot at a sheriff’s deputy Friday morning and barricaded himself in a Holly Avenue apartment has surrendered, according to Lt. Mike Munsey with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
A deputy who was assaulted by the suspect was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, the Sheriff's Department reported.
The sheriff's Special Enforcement Detail (SED) and Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) spoke to the man for more than two hours before he surrendered around noon.
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"We don't rush these things," Munsey said.
The incident started when deputies received a call around 7 a.m. about a domestic disturbance, at which time the suspect punched a deputy in the face and ran away, the sheriff's department said.
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One woman told Patch he apparently tried to force his way into her apartment before successfully entering another person's apartment nearby.
Tiari Garcia, whose Holly Avenue apartment overlooks the scene of the SWAT showdown, told Patch that her doorknob was missing amid other damage from the attempted break-in.
A 26-year-old mother of two boys, 7 and 5, Garcia said: “I heard one gunshot” and later poked her head out.
Loud pounding awoke her between 7:30 and 8 a.m. as sheriff’s deputies warned tenants about the danger. Garcia says about a dozen units were evacuated near the apartments near 13th Street.
The boys “don’t even know what’s going on,” she said during the standoff.
She said she wasn't aware of the door damage until she went outside and noticed a doorknob missing. Her lock still works, since a deadbolt is engaged.
Her original plan Friday was to take the boys to a friend’s place for pool swimming and hot dogs. But in the wake of the incident, she’s been responding to a flood of calls and text and Facebook messages to see if she is safe.
Garcia said she is five weeks away from graduating as a pharmacy technician from Pima Medical Institute in Chula Vista.
The apartment building in the 1300 block of Holly Avenue was evacuated in the wake of shots reported being fired at a sheriff's deputy following a domestic violence incident, the sheriff's department, NBCSanDiego.com and Fox 5 News reported.Neighbors reported hearing announcements from a helicopter that a tattooed 6-foot-1 man in a blue shirt and blue pants was being sought.
The suspect was inside an apartment and threatening officers, Fox 5 reported.
The San Diego Police Department and county Sheriff's Department were involved in the search and a SWAT team arrived with support from the sheriff's ASTREA helicopter.
On social media, on Twitter, @merplissa_ said “I'm lowkey scared to step outside” since SWAT was called to the scene.
@CALIMayhem noted “not summer fun” of the standoff.
On Facebook, an IB Patch follower said she had seen someone running down Coronado Avenue who matched the suspect's description.
NBC San Diego reported that the woman who made the original domestic violence call is safe.
The sheriff's department said the residence where the suspect was holed up has 12 units that were evacuated. One witness said the suspect does not live there but gained access by knocking on a resident's door.
The witness said that person escaped, according to NBC. Sheriff's Department officials said the person is an elderly man who was unhurt.
—City News Service and editors Ken Stone and Jennifer Vigil contributed to this report.
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