VALLEJO – An armed suspect escaped after he fired a shotgun and ran into a boarded and burned building in Vallejo Wednesday morning, leading to an hours-long standoff.
A police SWAT team raided a camper that was parked outside of the house just before 5 p.m. Police threw in tear gas canisters before entering the camper with guns drawn.
Officers exited the camper empty-handed. Ten minutes later, the officers packed up and left the scene. Police Sgt. Anthony Abeyta said that presumably the suspect had already long left.
“My day today was just about throwing chemical agents around," Abeyta said, referring to the tear gas canisters that were used. “Things turned out alright, nobody got hurt, on either side.”
When and how the suspect escaped remains unknown.
A crew of lineworkers who were at the scene before the standoff began said that a man with a shotgun fired in the street before running into the building at 400 Illinois St. early this morning.
Police had been on scene since, blocking off the area and staking out the front of the house.
The police department deployed numerous resources including a SWAT team, a dog, an armored vehicle, a negotiation unit and fire trucks.
The Solano County Office of Emergency Services issued an alert this afternoon at 3p.m. telling residents in the area to shelter in place.
Brad Albom, who also owns Chris’ Club on Benicia Road, said he owns the building on 400 Illinois.
Albom said that he believes the suspect could be a loose associate of his building tenant, who he said is in the “scrapping business.”
“Unfortunately in his scrapping, it results in transients going in and out, but I haven't seen any trouble with any of them,” said Albom, adding that there was no “illegal activity that I know of.”
The house on 400 Illinois St. was previously set on fire by an arsonist less than two years ago. Albom said that because of the structural damage, he’s been unable to renovate the house.
Carlos Rubio, who lives across the street, said in Spanish that he has seen dubious behavior originating from the house ever since the fire.
“About two years ago, this part of the house burned down and has never been fixed, and from there other people started arriving, trailers,” Rubio said. “You always see drugs, prostitution, all that.”
Albom said that in an effort to keep homeless people out he’s kept someone in the building to keep an eye on the property. “Better the devil you know,” he added.
The house is filled with various odds, ends and abandoned vehicles. The police raid resulted in additional broken windows, plus a broken down door and ripped up floodboards.
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