SHOOTING SUSPECT TAKES OWN LIFE AFTER SWAT STANDOFF IN JAMUL

By Miriam Raftery

(Photo by Rebecca Jefferis Williamson) 

February 16, 2021 (Jamul) – A 64-year-old man shot and killed himself after a stand-off with a SWAT team and crisis negotiators in Jamul, according to the Sheriff’s department.  He is suspected of shooting and wounding another man yesterday.

The confrontation began after deputies responded to a report of a shooting in the 15700 block of Lyons Valley road in Jamul yesterday shortly before noon. They found a gunshot victim outside the home. Paramedics transported him to a hospital, where he underwent surgery and is in stable condition with injuries considered non-life threatening.

“Deputies surrounded the residence, believing the shooting suspect, a 64-year-old male, was still located inside and armed with a gun,” says Lt Joel Stranger with the Rancho San Diego Sheriff’s station.  “Deputies made multiple loudspeaker announcements advising the suspect to exit the residence and surrender to deputies, which he refused to do.”

According to Lt. Stranger, “Based on the suspect's unwillingness to cooperate with patrol deputies and the belief that he was still armed with a gun that he had already used to shoot the victim, the Sheriff's Crisis Negotiations Team and Special Enforcement Detail were requested to respond to the scene in an attempt to safely resolve the incident.”

Once on scene, the Crisis Negotiations Team made contact with the suspect via telephone and spoke with him for several hours in an attempt to get him to peacefully surrender.

After several hours of refusing to cooperate with the Crisis Negotiations Team and exit the residence, the Special Enforcement Detail used chemical agents in an attempt to safely force the armed suspect to surrender and exit the residence.  

The suspect still refused to exit the residence after the deployment of chemical agents and was later found dead in the attic of the residence at around 4:27 a.m. today.  

“It appeared the armed suspect had suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Lt. Stranger said.

The follow-up investigation in this case is being handled by the Rancho San Diego Station Detective Unit.

The suspect’s name has not been release yet pending notification of family.