Area Man Holds Off SWAT Team for 6 Hours

A man armed with a shotgun allegedly threatened mental health evaluators who were summoned Friday to his Pomona apartment by his mother, then held a SWAT team at bay for six hours before surrendering and being hospitalized for a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police reported.

The 31-year-old man's mother and the evaluators managed to escape the unit and ran across the street to a nearby business prior to the arrival of officers just after 10 a.m., according to Pomona police Sgt. Daryll Johnson.

Soon after police arrived, they heard shotgun blasts from inside the home in the 2600 block of North Garey Avenue, he said.

"After the shots, the man would appear from time to time in the windows but would not surrender," Johnson said.

He said a SWAT team and crisis negotiators arrived and established communications with the man, who was  persuaded to surrender peacefully around 4 p.m.

"Officers found the man was suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the face the whole time negotiations were taking place," Johnson said.

The man's wound was not life-threatening and county firefighters treated him at the scene before taking him to a hospital for additional treatment and a mental health evaluation, Johnson said, adding that the loaded shotgun was recovered from the home. The man's name was withheld.

The standoff closed down Garey Avenue, he said.

"The SWAT team and negotiators showed tremendous restraint and professionalism, as they worked diligently at resolving this in the most peaceful manner," said Pomona police Capt. Michael Olivieri. "We are also glad that we were able to assist the man in getting the help that he needs."

—City News Service