SWAT STANDOFF IN LEMON GROVE ENDS AS SUSPECT SURRENDERS

Update 3:15 p.m. -- The seven-hour SWAT standoff has ended. According to the Sheriff's Dept., the suspect, Brandon Andrade, walked out of the house and surrendered after deputies used chemical agents. Mental Health Clinicians with the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT) will evaluate Andrade before he is booked into San Diego Central Jail. He is expected to face three counts of attempted murder charges. The evacuation notification and road closures will be lifted in an hour.

East County News Service

May 25, 2023 (Lemon Grove) – The San Diego County Sheriff's Department is working to peacefully resolve a SWAT standoff in Lemon Grove. A suspect has barricaded himself inside his home and is refusing to come out after firing multiple shots and injuring a neighbor. 

Skyline Drive between Longdale Drive and Palm Street is closed as deputies continue to negotiate with the suspect, who may have other weapons. Deputies evacuated eight homes in the neighborhood. Lemon Grove Early Childhood Education Center was also placed on lockdown as a precaution.

10 News reports the suspect has a military background and fired an AK-47 type weapon out the bedroom window.

Deputies with the Lemon Grove Sheriff's Substation received 9-1-1 calls around 8 a.m. about a shooting in the 8100 block of Longdale Drive. Callers told dispatchers a man was shooting at his neighbors' homes. 

Deputies quickly arrived on scene and found a neighbor who had been injured by bullet fragments. The victim was taken to a hospital for treatment and is expected to make a full recovery. 

The mother of the suspect was able to get out of her home safely. No one else is inside the home, and no one else was hurt from the shooting, according to a  Sheriff’s news release. 

Deputies with the Sheriff's Crisis Negotiation Team and Special Enforcement Detail (SED/SWAT) at the scene. Also responding is a Sheriff's Chaplain, as well as the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT).  The Sheriff’s ASTREA helicopter is overhead making announcements.

“We are in communication with the suspect and working to convince him to surrender peacefully. We are told by family members that he might have other firearms inside the home. His mother also says the suspect has mental health needs,” the Sheriff’s press release states.”If the suspect is watching the news or reading this release, we ask that you work with and trust the person you are talking to on the phone. They are trying to help you. They want to get you to a safe place.”

 f you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, help is always available by calling 9-8-8.