Gun Cache Seized From Man In Crisis In San Mateo County: Police

SAN MATEO, CA — San Mateo County deputies confiscated a large number of illegal firearms from a man in the midst of a mental health crisis Friday, according to the sheriff's office.

In a news release, authorities said deputies were sent to a home in the Eichler Highlands on reports of a person threatening to harm themselves with a gun. Investigators arrived to find a 51-year-old man in crisis and worked to de-escalate the situation peacefully.

The sheriff's office said those efforts were successful and the man was placed on a mental health hold and taken to a medical center for evaluation.

A superior court judge authorized a gun violence restraining order, allowing deputies to take weapons for safekeeping. While serving the order, deputies recorded 80 weapons on the property, including illegal ghost guns, fully automatic pistols, suppressed handguns and weapons that had been reported stolen, the sheriff's office said.

An investigation into the firearms remains active.