Suspect Fires Gun In Petaluma Motel Room, Found Critically Injured: PD

PETALUMA, CA — A man wanted in connection with a domestic violence incident in Santa Rosa was hospitalized in critical condition after a standoff Tuesday at a Petaluma motel, police said.

The man's name was not provided by Santa Rosa police, who released a statement late Tuesday following the standoff. Officers first began trying to contact the man in his mid-50s at 11:59 p.m. Saturday in the 2700 block of Harvest Lane for a suspected felony assault against his significant other.

Officers were not able to detain the man that night and sent a countywide BOLO — be on the lookout — alert to all Sonoma County law enforcement agencies, informing them there was probable cause to detain the suspect for several felonies.

At 12:55 p.m. Monday, Santa Rosa police officers observed the man driving his blue Ford F250 pickup truck in Santa Rosa and tried to initiate a traffic stop. The man did not comply and a pursuit was initiated, police said. Circumstances made the pursuit unsafe for the public so officers immediately terminated the chase.

Shortly after that, the Santa Rosa Police Department’s Communications Center received phone calls about a possible fire at the man's residence on Harvest Lane. Officers and the Santa Rosa Fire Department responded and the fire was quickly extinguished and the structure was not lost.

Around 8 p.m. Monday, detectives served a search warrant at the Harvest Lane residence and found more than a dozen firearms, including privately manufactured rifles, assault rifles, shotguns and a handgun, SRPD said.

Tuesday morning, the man's car was spotted in the parking lot of a motel at 200 S. McDowell Blvd. in Petaluma. The suspect was believed to be staying in a specific room at the motel and detectives authored a search warrant for the room and an arrest warrant for the man, SRPD said.

The warrant was for felony domestic violence, felony vehicle pursuit, felony arson and felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.

Around noon Tuesday, detectives with the help of the Santa Rosa Police Department SWAT team and crisis negotiators attempted to serve both warrants. Because the man has a known history of violence and access to firearms, SRPD brought its SWAT operators in an armored rescue vehicle.

According to SRPD, the man repeatedly shot a gun inside the motel room and threatened violence toward officers multiple times.

The investigation as to what the man was shooting at or how many times he shot his gun was continuing, Santa Rosa police Lt. Christopher Mahurin said.

Later Tuesday afternoon, SRPD said, officers heard another shot from the suspect’s motel room and that is when SWAT officers entered the room and saw the man suffering a significant injury. The man was treated by medical staff who were staged at the motel. He was then taken to a regional hospital and was in critical condition suffering from life-threatening injuries, police said.

"No additional information about the suspect will be provided until there is an update about his medical condition and his next of kin is notified," Mahurin said.

The Petaluma Police Department helped with the investigation by providing real-time information about the location and the neighborhood. Petaluma officers also used their armored rescue vehicle to help block the man from shooting out onto roadways or into nearby motel rooms, police said.

"This partnership helped keep the community and on-scene officers safe," Mahurin said.

No officers or citizens were injured during the incident.

Under a countywide protocol for such incidents, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office is expected to investigate the incident.