Oct 10, 2008 7:50 am US/Pacific
6-Hour Aliso Viejo Standoff Comes To A Tragic End
Gunman Dies After Apparently Shooting Himself In The End
ALISO VIEJO
A 6-hour standoff in Aliso Viejo that prompted the evacuation of nearby residents after a bullet was fired at a deputy came to an end Friday morning when the gunman shot himself in the head, authorities said.
The gunman had fired shots in the early morning hours from inside a home on Rue du Chateau, CBS 2's Dave Mecham reported from the scene.
An Orange County Sheriff's SWAT team had been deployed to the residence and authorities tried to persuade him to surrender.
The standoff began around midnight when a deputy responded to a neighbor's report that a vehicle had been struck in a hit-and-run, according to the Sheriff's Department.
Deputy Chief Michael Hillman said a deputy reported that a shot was fired and a bullet went over his head, but no one was injured.
Sheriff's officials were in touch with the gunman by telephone and neighboring homes, as well as a school, were evacuated, Mecham reported.
After about six hours, SWAT deputies accompanied by police dogs pumped tear gas into the residence and went inside the home, where they found the man locked in an upstairs closet, Hillman said.
It was unknown why the 39-year-old man, who was married, had barricaded himself in the home after the reported hit-and-run accident.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
