A man shot and killed a neighbor at a South Bay apartment complex Thursday and then holed up inside one of the units with his wife and two young children, prompting a daylong standoff that ended after he released the family members and fatally shot himself.
Witnesses reported hearing four to 10 shots on E Street near First Avenue in Chula Vista about 7:40 a.m.
The victim, whose name was not immediately available, collapsed and died between two parked cars.
"My understanding is that there was a ... dispute between two neighbors at the complex," police Capt. Lon Turner told reporters.
The 42-year-old suspect, believed to be armed with an assault rifle similar to an AK-47, locked himself inside his apartment with his 31-year-old wife and two boys, ages 8 and 4. The relationship of the couple — identified by police only as Michael and Laura — to the minors was unclear.
About 3:30 p.m., the suspect allowed police to remove the woman and children from the apartment, though he still refused to surrender, Turner said.
Just under an hour later, a gunshot sounded from inside the unit, police said. SWAT officers then sent in a camera-equipped robot to check on the suspect, finding him dead from an apparent self-inflicted bullet wound about 5:15 p.m.
The special weapons and tactics had first taken up positions around the complex about 8:15 a.m., escorting the dead man's wife and two children from their residence and helping a 93-year-old man in frail health leave, as well.
Crisis counselors, meanwhile, contacted the barricaded man, who made comments about being suicidal, and tried to persuade him to surrender peaceably. Officers closed off traffic lanes in the area and urged the public to stay clear of the neighborhood until the situation was resolved.
When the suspect stopped answering his cellphone in the late morning, authorities decided to evacuate the 39-unit complex one building at a time. City buses took some of the displaced residents to Norman Park Senior Center, 270 F St., where the American Red Cross was providing food and drinks.
In all, police cleared 41 adults and 15 children out of the apartments.
As the stalemate continued through the morning and afternoon, authorities were unable to recover the victim's body due to its proximity to the suspected shooter's apartment, according to Turner.
As of 2 p.m., the suspect had resumed talking with the negotiators, at times suggesting that he wanted to surrender but still failing to do so. His wife also spoke with officers before she and the children were rescued.
His full name was not immediately available.
