EL CAJON, Calif. – A man who held his young son hostage overnight Friday is dead after a standoff that lasted for more than eight hours at an El Cajon home and shut down a neighborhood.
At 5:15 p.m., El Cajon police responded to a report that shots had been fired in a home in the 800 block of Grape Street.
On arrival, officers learned from a family member that the suspect was still holed up inside the home with his 7-year-old son and may be armed with multiple weapons.
El Cajon police SWAT and a Crisis Negotiation Team, along with San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies, were called out and surrounding streets were shut down. No nearby homes were evacuated, however. Authorities spent several hours unsuccessfully attempting to make contact with the suspect. At around 1:15 a.m. Saturday, the 7-year-old boy came out of the garage. He was unhurt, El Cajon police said.
A little while later, a single gunshot was heard coming from inside the home. A police robot was sent into the home, at which point authorities discovered that the suspect was dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
The exact circumstances which precipitated the shooting were not confirmed.
The identity of the suspect was not immediately released.
Anyone with information on the case should contact El Cajon police at 619-579-3311.
