The incident prompted a large police and SWAT response, school lockdowns and more around noon Tuesday, April 22, ending more than four hours later.
A suicidal man armed with a semi-automatic gun in a car surrendered peacefully in La Jolla after more than four hours of negotiation with police and SWAT teams.
The report came in just before noon Tuesday, April 22, with San Diego police quickly responding both on ground and in helicopter to the top of Mount Soledad in the 2100 block of Via Casa Alta west of San Diego Fire Station 16.
A San Diego Sheriff Department helicopter and SWAT members assisted during the standoff; police also blocked off La Jolla Scenic Drive South from Soledad Mountain Road north to upper Hillside Drive.
Police deployed spike strips to prevent the suspect from fleeing and engaged in negotiations with the gunman, who refused to exit his vehicle and kept threatening to kill himself.
Shortly after 12:30 pm schools in the area, including La Jolla High School and The Gillispie School, locked down their campuses as a precautionary measure.
An email from the La Jolla Summit HOA, which manages the community just above La Jolla Country Club, shared to Nextdoor around 12:37 pm, urged residents to stay inside with doors and gates locked and noted community streets were blocked by San Diego police.
The lockdown at La Jolla High School and La Jolla Elementary lifted at 12:50 pm while others stayed in place until a few hours later.
Helicopters continued to circle and shelter in place alerts for neighborhoods in proximity to the standoff persisted throughout the afternoon as police continued negotiating the man’s surrender, which came after 4 pm.
© lajolla.ca
