Police arrest man possibly armed with rifle-type weapon who had been barricaded in Santa Ana auto parts shop
Police arrested a possibly armed suspect on the roof of an auto body shop in Santa Ana after he had barricaded himself in the building for hours Tuesday, Sept. 17.
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It was about 11 a.m. when officers were first called about a man with a gun entering a 7-Eleven on 1st Street, police said.
When officers arrived, the suspect exited the building and ran from them, said Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.
“He went to the rear of the auto shop and was hiding there,” Bertagna said. “We got all the employees out of there.”
Police surrounded Culver 7 Auto Body Shop, 3635 W. 1st St., and made several attempts to communicate with the suspect. He did not respond, so a robot was deployed to monitor his position. The man attempted to escape through the roof of the building, where SWAT officers were waiting to apprehend him at about 3:30 p.m.
The suspect was lowered from the building with a fire truck’s basket and taken into custody. His identity was not immediately released.
During the standoff, the man was seen hiding under cars and SWAT officers observed what appeared to be some type of firearm, Bertagna said. A gun was not recovered at the time he was arrested, and officials may not be able to confirm whether the suspect was armed until they finish searching the business he hid in.
“It’s a large auto body yard, with a lot of cars, so they’ll have a lot to go through,” Bertagna said.
Police closed off 1st Street from Harbor Boulevard to Jackson Street. About a dozen curious people gathered under a tree at the corner of Harbor and 1st, roughly a block away from the scene of the standoff. No shots were heard during the incident, and authorities received no initial reports of injuries.