CARLSBAD, Calif. (KGTV) – A standoff involving a man said to be experiencing what Carlsbad Police described as "a mental health crisis" ended peacefully late Friday morning after nearly 17 hours.
In an update posted on social media just after 11:40 a.m., police said: “The incident has been resolved peacefully. Roads are now reopened. Thanks for everyone’s cooperation.”
Carlsbad Police did not provide any further details on how the standoff concluded or the condition of the man involved.
Police said the situation began at around 7:15 p.m. Thursday, when officers were called to the 2700 block of Loker Avenue due to “a potentially armed person experiencing a mental health crisis.”
Carlsbad Police Lt. Shaun Lawton confirmed Friday morning that a man was inside a car parked near an office building with a gun in his possession. Lawton said the man threatened to harm himself.
According to police, the unidentified man activated a car communications system similar to OnStar, and that alerted officers of the situation.
Lawton said crisis negotiators were sent to the scene to attempt to talk to the man, who only spoke Russian. Negotiators and an interpreter communicated with the man via the vehicle’s communications system, Lawton noted.
ABC 10News learned police were also contact with the man’s wife during the ordeal.
The standoff prompted police to shut down Loker Avenue West, from Palomar Airport Road to El Fuerte Street for several hours.
Additionally, authorities asked businesses on Loker Avenue West, from Palomar Airport Road to 2762 Loker Avenue West, to close “out of an abundance of caution.”
