SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) — SWAT officers tried to talk Brittany Lefler out of her Clairemont apartment, but when that didn't work they got more aggressive. They eventually got the 35-year-old's attention, who then came to the window topless.
Police were first called to Lefler's apartment on Beadnell Way just before midnight, because multiple neighbors complained about noise coming from her home. She quieted down and the police left.
But around 5 a.m., police say Lefler was walking around with a gun, threatening the neighbors she thought called the police on her, including the woman who lives right next door to her.
"She ran back into her apartment and our suspect fired at least one round through the door in the apartment," said Lt. Scott Wahl of the San Diego Police Department. "It went through a couple walls and we think it lodged in a bathroom inside that apartment."
There were three people inside that apartment, including a small child, but luckily no one was hurt.
When police arrived, Lefler refused to come out. Officers evacuated occupants of surrounding units while trying to persuade her to give herself up. Shortly after 8 a.m., a SWAT team was called in to take up positions around the suspect's apartment and prepare to enter forcibly if necessary.
An area preschool was also evacuated during the standoff.
For safety, police shut down Balboa in both directions - from Cannington to Mount Abernathy - causing a huge traffic mess on side streets.
The woman refused through the morning and into the afternoon to follow officers' directives to exit her residence unarmed so she could be taken into custody.
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Finally, about nine hours into the standoff, around 2 p.m., Lefler came out her apartment with her hands up and was placed in handcuffs.
"We were able to bring the situation to a peaceful resolution and nobody got hurt," said Lt. Wahl.