Man in custody after Redding SWAT ends 8-hour standoff
REDDING — A man is in custody after a lengthy Redding standoff that began early this morning, Friday, April 12. The hours-long standoff reportedly started after the alleged suspect fired a gun inside a home where he had been invited to stay the night. Redding PD’s SWAT Team, crisis negotiators, and Bomb Squad members were called to the scene of the 8-hour standoff, which happened in the 2100 block of Oxford Rd., just north of East Cypress Avenue.
The alleged suspect, who one witness at the scene said “may be dealing with mental health issues,” was taken into custody after he surrendered to SWAT members, who eventually deployed chemical agents into the home to force the man out.
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This morning’s standoff began around 4:30 a.m., after Redding PD received reports of shots fired inside the residence.
The homeowner where the standoff happened, Melisa Danyeur, spoke to Record Searchlight reporters at the scene, telling them that the man involved in the incident was a friend of her nephew’s, and had been invited to stay the night at her residence.
Danyeur said she woke early Friday morning when she heard what sounded like gunfire inside her home. She soon learned her nephew’s house guest had fired a gun through a sliding glass door “because he thought someone was trying to break into the house,” Record Searchlight reported.
Although no one was injured in the initial shooting, when Danyeur realized the man inside her home was armed with a weapon she told her family members to leave the residence. After safely exiting the home, she called 911 to report the shooting.
Although Danyeur, her son, and her nephew safely got out of the house, the gun-wielding man refused to exit the home and remained inside.
Danyeur also later told Record Searchlight the man, “who her nephew has known since high school and is here from Arizona, was incoherent and may be dealing with mental health issues,” fired more shots inside the home around 5 a.m.
Redding PD later confirmed that additional shots had been fired inside the residence, but officials could not specify at that time how many shots the man had fired.
Based on the circumstances and the man’s refusal to exit the home, officers at the scene called for additional resources. They then cordoned of the neighborhood and began evacuating families from their homes in the immediate area. Other area residents were advised to shelter in place and stay away from the area.
As SWAT, crisis negotiators, Bomb Squad members, UAV Team officers, and other officials converged on the scene, a Redding PD mobile command center was brought to the neighborhood and officials began the hours-long process of trying to convince the man to peacefully surrender to officers.
While the standoff and negotiations continued, area residents could hear officials hailing the man on a PA loudspeaker, but the man refused to exit the residence or surrender to officers.
Officers from Redding PD’s UAV – or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle – Team were seen deploying several small drones over the residence and neighborhood to gather vital information, which was then relayed to patrol and special teams officers at the scene. Department robots were also deployed outside the residence, to gather as much intelligence and information about the suspect’s movements inside the home as possible.
Today’s ongoing standoff caused nearby Mistletoe Elementary School, located just a half-mile, to be placed on modified lockdown, or shelter in place status. However, the heavy police activity was not reportedly having a significant effect on the nearby campus.
Throughout today’s ordeal, Redding PD officials provided regular updates to the public, via a series of social media releases and videos shared on their Facebook page. At around 12:30 this afternoon, Redding Police Lt. Pete Brindley updated in a social media video that the suspect had finally surrendered to officers.
“For several hours our hostage negotiation team attempted to make contact with the suspect inside of the residence,” Brindley explained.
“After a long period of time we deployed chemical agents into the house,” Brindley continued. “We could hear him moving around in a corner bedroom and he ultimately surrendered to our SWAT Team and was taken into custody without further incident.”
Redding PD is now investigating what may have led to the shooting and lengthy standoff and officials have not released any further details about their active and ongoing investigation.
This is a developing story that will be updated as new information is available.
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Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.