Update: Darlene Way Standoff Ends After 15 Hours

Updated July 22, 1:43 a.m.: Residents of Darlene Way are finally being allowed back into their homes after an all-day manhunt that started out as a burglary investigation.

The drama began at about 10:15 a.m., when a burglary suspect fired shots at police officers, and turned into a 15-hour ordeal, with two people arrested and residents sequestered inside their homes or evacuated.

Residents of Jean, Rose and Darlene streets were forced to remain inside their homes or avoid the area as SWAT teams searched for suspects, said Lt. Ben Horner of the Union City Police Department.

Just before 3:20 p.m., police arrested an 18-year-old Union City man who was found hiding in a shed a few feet away from where the shots were fired. He resisted arrest and was bitten by police dogs.

At about 5:15 p.m., members of the Union City-Newark SWAT unit arrested the primary suspect, but didn't give the all-clear until the wee hours of the morning.

Officers first responded to the area around 10:15 a.m. to a report of a burglary at an Annette Court home occupied by at least two children, police said.

Residents of the burglarized house were upstairs when they heard a knock at the door and then the sound of glass breaking, Horner said.

When the residents came downstairs, they saw a male intruder. He
was startled and ran away, Horner said.

As police investigated, they ended up at a nearby home on Darlene Way and were "immediately shot upon" by an unknown suspect, according to Horner.

The man pulled out a handgun and fired at them, and the officers fired back, Horner said. No officers were struck by the gunfire, he said.

The man dodged the shots and ran away, fleeing through a home and through back yards, he said.

He was ultimately located several houses away from where the shooting took place and was arrested at 5:15 p.m., according to Horner.

Authorities continued to surround the area and search homes, including the house on Darlene Way where the shooting occurred.

According to Horner, police meticulously searched the home for additional suspects. Neighbors said authorities had surrounded the home since about 10:30 a.m.

A little after 8 p.m. SWAT teams used tear gas to try to flush out any suspects. While it sounded like gunfire, Horner said the noises residents heard were from tear gas cannisters being fired.

Two helicopters also circled the neighborhood.

It wasn't until about 1 a.m. that police cleared the home. No one was found, according to Horner.

About two dozen Darlene Way residents were finally escorted to their homes.

A relative of the family living at the home where the shooting occurred told Union City Patch earlier in the day that when she heard that police had been called to the 32400 block of Darlene Way, she suspected they were headed to her family's home because there had been an argument there Wednesday.

Witnesses told Patch that two babies were taken from the home in car seats, as well as two older children, ages 8 and 12. 

The investigation is still ongoing, Horner said. Anyone with information  is asked to call Union City Police at 510-471-1365. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 510-675-5207 or emailing tips@unioncity.org.

Thursday's shooting comes on the heels of several violent months in the city:

• On June 26 a 22-year-old man was critically injured after being shot multiple times near Sixth Street and Whipple Road.

• On June 14, , 34, was shot and killed on the 4100 block of Venus Place in the Contempo Homes community.

• On May 14, , 34, was shot and killed on the 33600 block of Eighth Street.
• Just three days later, on May 17 , 49, was shot and killed on the 600 block of Whipple Road.

Bay City News contributed to this report. You can also follow us on Twitter @UnionCityPatch or on Facebook.