Man Cited For Allegedly Pointing Gun In Road-Rage Incident That Led To Nordstrom Lockdown At Stanford Shopping Center

PALO ALTO, CA – After a morning lockdown at the Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto police this afternoon arrested a man at his health-care job for allegedly pointing a gun at another motorist in a possible road-rage incident.

Charles Christian Simbulan Blanco, 28 of Fremont, was issued a criminal citation for suspicion of brandishing a firearm and possession of a concealed firearm not properly stowed in a vehicle, both misdemeanors, the Palo Alto Police Department said.

Police were called at 10:42 a.m. today by a man in his 30s who reportedly said he was driving with his wife on Embarcadero Road near Middlefield Road when another motorist in a white 2016 Honda Fit made an unsafe lane change that led to a spurt of road rage between the two drivers that continued for several blocks, the department said. The man told officers that when they reached Quarry and Arboretum roads, the other driver made verbal threats and pointed a firearm at him, which is when he called police, the agency said.

Responding officers found the suspect’s vehicle parked and unoccupied in the Nordstrom parking lot at the Stanford Shopping Center at 550 Sand Hill Road, which led to a lockdown of the department store.

Roughly 225 Nordstrom patrons and employees sheltered inside the store for about 40 minutes until officers confirmed the suspect was no longer in the area at about 11:45 a.m.

Detectives learned the suspect worked as a relief "transporter" employee at Stanford Health Care, at 300 Pasteur Drive, where Blanco was eventually detained without incident by officers at 12:40 p.m., police said.

The man's vehicle was still parked at the Nordstrom lot, and police report finding inside an unloaded .45-caliber Glock pistol from the front door pocket and loaded magazines for the pistol in the glove compartment.

Blanco legally possessed the gun and ammunition, police said. The man was released after being issued the citation.

During the morning search for the suspect, he was described as an Asian man in his 20s with a goatee and wearing a dark blue dress shirt with embroidery on the front, according to police. No booking photo is available as he was issued a misdemeanor criminal citation and released.

There is no information that the suspect ever actually entered Nordstrom. No one was injured in the incident, police said.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Palo Alto police 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through a free mobile app, downloadable at bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.

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--Image via Palo Alto PD