Armed Suspect Taken Into Custody After Shooting, Hours-Long Standoff In Modesto
MODESTO (CBS13) — An armed suspect who barricaded in a Modesto townhouse Tuesday evening is in police custody.
The hours-long standoff came to an end around 6:50 p.m., Modesto police confirmed. Police say the suspect surrendered and was safely taken into custody after nearly four hours.
Crowds of neighbors watched the incident unfold as officers evacuated nearby residents and used teargas to try and defuse the situation. A family member of the suspect told CBS13 he is in his 20s and lives at the townhouse where the standoff occurred, but they're not sure what caused him to open fire on officers.
Police say the incident started as a traffic stop around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday near Lincoln Oak Drive and Floyd Avenue. The suspect reportedly fled the scene, but the officer did not pursue the vehicle.
Later, an officer found the suspect vehicle in the complex parking lot in the 2800 block of Floyd Avenue. When officers tried to contact the suspected driver, police say he began firing a weapon at them from inside a townhouse. Officers returned fire as the suspect barricaded himself in the residence.
Dozens of police, SWAT officers, and eyes overhead filled their neighborhood while investigators worked for hours to get the suspect to come out peacefully.
No injuries were reported in the shootings.
Maria Allen lives in the Shadow Glen Townhouses where the suspect barricaded himself. She says she heard the commotion while her sister, brother-in-law, one-year-old niece and roommates hid in the tub.
"'Back off or I will shoot.' There was three snipers out on the roof and he said if he sees them he will shoot them," Allen said. "You can hear everything from back here. Screaming, gunshots, the teargas hit us over here."
The hours-long standoff eventually ended with the man surrendering and being taken out on a gurney. The suspect reportedly spoke with his family on the phone while he was barricaded.
"I'm just glad nobody got hurt, nobody was seriously injured and they defused the situation," Joe Hernandez said.
Hernandez said he visits his cousin at the apartment complex often and has never seen a problem come from the suspect's apartment.
The suspect has not been identified. Police say no one was inside the home with the suspect at the time of the incident.
The Modesto Police Department and Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office is investigating this police shooting.
