Hourslong Oakland lockdown ends with arrest after suspect shoots at officers, sets house fire: OPD
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- A suspect was taken into custody after allegedly shooting at Oakland police officers and setting a house on fire, prompting a neighborhood lockdown that lasted for hours, according to Oakland police.
Police said the incident began at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday when officers received several 911 calls about a man threatening to kill a woman in Manzanita Park.
VIDEO: OPD gives update on suspect who allegedly threatened to kill woman
When officers arrived, police said the man began shooting at them.
"The officers returned fire; he fled from the park, Manzanita Park. They ended up safely taking the woman to another location while additional responding officers set up a perimeter," Oakland Police Chief James Beere said.
Residents in the area described a chaotic scene as police searched for the suspect.
"Just SWAT AK-47 seconds, just boom, boom, boom, boom, swarming, running," one neighbor said.
Police said people within the perimeter were instructed to stay inside. However, some residents who live nearby said they did not receive that message.
"They did not tell us anything. They walked back and forth and they didn't say anything to us. And they didn't say it to stay inside. Literally nothing. And I was shocked," Mary said.
According to police, officers were able to track the suspect to an abandoned house on East 22nd Avenue with the help of neighbors and security video.
INTERACTIVE: Take a look at the ABC7 Neighborhood Safety Tracker
Investigators said the man threw lit cans at officers and set the house on fire before he was taken into custody.
"This is when they apprehended the perpetrator," a neighbor said while describing video of the arrest.
Police said the suspect is being treated at a hospital for minor injuries.
"This could've been far worse. He obviously had some pretty violent tendencies and he was out to hurt people Sunday. He was bent on killing someone Sunday," Beere said.
No one else was injured, police said. Still, neighbors said the approximately five-hour lockdown left them shaken.
"I've lived here my whole life, never seen anything like that before," Mary said.
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