Wanted Man Holes Up In SUV, Prompting Standoff In South Bay

SAN DIEGO — A wanted felon believed to be armed with a gun holed up Thursday inside an SUV outside a motel near Imperial Beach when officers tried to arrest him, prompting an hours-long standoff.

National City police requested backup from their counterparts in the city of San Diego about 10:15 a.m. while trying to get the suspect into custody in the 1000 block of Outer Road in Palm City, near Hollister Street and just east of Interstate 5, SDPD Sgt. Michael Stirk said.

The man, whose identity was not immediately available, also apparently had been involved in a hit-and-run traffic accident, the sergeant said. Where and when that crash occurred was unclear.

Officers with pistols and rifles drawn surrounded the SUV in which the suspect – who reportedly at some point had made a comment about committing "suicide by cop" – was barricaded as negotiators tried to persuade him to surrender peaceably.

The stalemate was ongoing in the early afternoon, Stirk said.

– City News Service