LEMON GROVE, Calif. (KGTV) – A man suspected of shooting at residents in a Lemon Grove neighborhood, causing an injury to one neighbor, barricaded himself inside his home, leading to a SWAT standoff on Thursday.
San Diego County sheriff’s officials said deputies were dispatched to the 8100 block of Longdale Drive, near Myra Street, at around 7:50 a.m. in response to a mental health crisis call and reports of shots fired.
According to sheriff’s officials, several residents reported a man firing an AR-15 at them from a bedroom window of a home.
As shots were fired, one neighbor was struck by bullet fragments, officials confirmed. The victim was taken to the hospital for treatment and expected to be OK.
The suspected shooter, identified by sheriff’s officials as a 28-year-old man with a military background, barricaded himself in his home.
Sheriff's officials stated, "The mother of the suspect was able to get out of her home safely. No one else is inside the home. No one else was hurt from the shooting."
Sheriff’s deputies and a SWAT unit converged in the neighborhood, blocking off Skyline Drive between Longdale Drive and Palm Street, and evacuating residents in at least eight nearby homes.
Residents who were not evacuated were told to shelter in place.
According to sheriff’s officials, the Lemon Grove Early Childhood Education Center on nearby Palm Street was locked down as a precaution.
Sheriff’s officials said nearby schools would be locked down if the situation continued through the time where classes are finished for the day.
Deputies arrested the suspect just before 3 p.m. after they used a chemical agent at the home.
The sheriff's department identified the suspect as Brandon Andrade. They say he came out with his hands up and surrendered peacefully after the chemicals were used.
"Andrade will undergo a mental health evaluation before he is booked into the San Diego Central Jail on three counts of attempted murder," the sheriff's department says.
ABC 10News spoke to neighbors in the area as the standoff was happening. They told our reporter on the scene that Andrade's brother died in a hit-and-run crash in the Las Vegas area over the weekend. The neighbors believe this caused the suspect's erratic behavior, leading to the shooting and standoff.
Our newsroom reached out to the medical examiner in Nevada to confirm those details. Their records show that a person with the same last name as the suspect was killed in a hit-and-run crash on Sunday, May 21.
Officials urged the public to follow the department's Twitter page for updates on the situation.
