By SDCN Staff
El Cajon, CA–A man was found dead after a three-hour standoff and garage fire Friday in the unincorporated area of El Cajon, authorities said.
The incident occurred, just after 9 a.m., in the 700 block of 4th Street.
El Cajon police responded to a 9-1-1 call, just after 9 a.m., of a man who locked himself in the house, and was threatening to hurt himself with a gun following an argument with family members. When deputies and Heartland Fire crews arrived, they found a detached garage on fire.
Family members were able to get out of the house safely. The family’s neighbors were also evacuated as deputies tried to communicate with the man. The Sheriff’s Crisis Negotiation Team and mental health clinicians with the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team were called to assist the police.
The standoff forced the temporary closure of 4th Street between Naranca and Madison Avenues.
After fire crews extinguished the blaze, and contained it to the garage, the Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Detail helped in clearing the house. They found a man with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the bedroom.
The Medical Examiner’s Office will identify the man, as well as determine the cause and manner of death once his family has been notified.
Sheriff’s Bomb and Arson Unit is investigating the fire.
