A tense standoff after a fire broke out in an El Cajon neighborhood Friday ended after nearly three hours.
A suicidal man, believed to have a gun, holed up in a home near Granite Hills High School and refused to come out after a fire engulfed a detached garage on a large piece of property. Residents nearby were told to stay away and four blocks of 4th Street were blocked off.
A 911 caller reported the emergency shortly after 9 a.m., saying a man had locked himself in the house and was threatening to shoot himself following an argument with family members who were able to get out of the residence safely.
Firefighters arrived to find flames shooting upwards and black smoke columns in the sky.
Deputies, a SWAT team and crisis counselors responded and for more than two-and-a-half hours tried in vain to persuade the man to disarm himself and leave the house.
Shortly after Noon, SWAT officers entered the home and found the man dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The man's name was not immediately available.
(Photos Cliff Albert KOGO News)
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