SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — A suicidal man holed up in a home near Granite Hills High School Friday and refused to come out as a fire engulfed a detached garage on the property, prompting an hours-long law enforcement standoff during which he fatally shot himself.
A 911 caller reported the emergency in the 700 block of North Fourth Street in unincorporated El Cajon shortly after 9 a.m., saying a man had locked himself in the house and was threatening to shoot himself following an argument with relatives, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
The family members were able to get out of the residence safely, the agency reported.
Arriving to find the garage burning, patrol personnel called in firefighters, evacuated nearby residents and shut down the street between Madison and Naranca avenues.
The blaze in the 700 block of North Fourth Street in unincorporated El Cajon was reported shortly before 9:30 a.m., according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
When authorities got word about the possibly armed occupant of the residence, however, the crews backed off and called for assistance from deputies.
Deputies and crisis counselors proceeded to spend about two hours trying in vain to persuade the man to disarm himself and exit the house. A SWAT team was then called in, sheriff's Lt. Scott Roller said.
Shortly before 12:30 p.m., the special weapons and tactics personnel entered the home and found the man dead from a self-inflected gunshot wound. His name was not immediately available.