ESCONDIDO — A burst of gunfire inside a rented room at an Escondido motel yesterday afternoon prompted a three-hour police standoff that ended when officers forced entry and found the suspected shooter dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The events that led to the fatal shooting began about 2:30 p.m., when a staffer at the Hacienda Motel in the 700 block of North Broadway called the police to report that a guest was refusing to leave his room after his checkout time.
When officers went to the motel and made contact with the man through the closed door, he yelled that he had a gun and made comments suggesting he would fire it, prompting the patrol personnel to back off, Escondido Police Department Lt. Scott Walters told reporters.
Moments later, two gunshots sounded inside the motel room, according to Walters. The officers then retreated to safety and called for backup.
Police shut down North Broadway between Mission and Washington avenues as a precaution and called in special weapons and tactics personnel while negotiators tried to make contact with the suspect.
As the stalemate lingered, officers launched concussion bombs into the motel room to try to get the man to surrender, but he remained inside despite the loud detonations and resulting smoke from the devices. Later,
police broke out a window and flew a camera-equipped drone into the room.
About 5:30 p.m., SWAT officers entered the room and found the suspected gunman dead, police said. His name was not immediately available.
1 comment
SCUZZY MOTEL, Two arson’s under questionable circumstances. Rampant drug usage. Should be torn down.
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