Armed Man Shot Dead By Police After Two-Hour Backyard Siege Locks Down California Block
A gunman firing from a residential backyard held off SWAT negotiators for more than two hours before officers opened fire, killing him and forcing terrified neighbors to shelter in place.
An armed man is dead after Woodland, California, police say he opened fire from a residential backyard and then held off SWAT negotiators for more than two hours before officers shot him Friday afternoon, locking down a quiet Yolo County block just 15 miles from Sacramento.
Officers were called to the area of Johnston Street and Alice Street around 2 p.m. after reports of shots fired, according to CBS Sacramento. When they arrived, police determined a man was firing a gun from a home's backyard. Woodland's SWAT team and crisis negotiation unit were called in, and residents nearby were warned to avoid the area, with some told to shelter in place while officers tried to talk the man into surrendering, according to ABC10 Sacramento.
Two Hours, Then Gunfire
The standoff stretched on for at least two hours before officers opened fire and struck the man. Paramedics attempted lifesaving measures at the scene, but he was pronounced dead. Police said no officers were injured in the exchange, and by Friday evening the shelter-in-place order had been lifted, though investigators remained on the block collecting evidence into the night.
"After at least two hours of negotiations, officers fired their weapons and struck the man," Woodland police said, adding that lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful.
The man had not been publicly identified as of Friday night, and police have not disclosed what weapon he used, what he was shooting at, or what touched off the backyard gunfire in the first place. Fox40 reported the shelter-in-place order rattled the residential neighborhood as SWAT vehicles and armored units rolled in.
Woodland, the seat of Yolo County with roughly 61,000 residents, sits in the heart of California's Sacramento Valley farm country and rarely sees the kind of hours-long tactical standoff that shut down a neighborhood block Friday. As is typical in California after officer-involved shootings, the department's use of force will face internal review, and the Yolo County Coroner's Office is expected to release the man's identity once next of kin have been notified.
Woodland police said the investigation remains active and that further details, including the man's identity and what led to the shooting, would be released as they become available.