LA County deputies rip open back of Lancaster home to find person dead after hours-long standoff

An hours-long standoff with an allegedly armed suspect, which started Monday afternoon, came to an end early Tuesday when Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies used a tactical vehicle to rip open the back of a home in Lancaster, where one person was found dead. 

The incident began on Monday afternoon at around 3:30 p.m., when deputies were contacted for reports of an armed suspect who was barricaded inside a house in the 43000 block of Blue Sky Court, said a news release from LASD officials. 

When deputies arrived, they encountered an armed man refusing to cooperate. The man barricaded himself in the home for about 14 hours, as crisis negotiation teams attempted to bring the incident to a peaceful conclusion. 

However, after hours of unsuccessful attempts to coax the suspect from the home, personnel with LASD's Special Enforcement Bureau used a "Tac-Cat," or a tactical BearCat vehicle, to rip open the back of the home a little before 6 a.m. Aerial video of the scene from SkyCal showed the back wall of the home torn apart on the second floor. A person's body was also seen, along with what appeared to be a handgun. 

The person who was found dead was identified by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner on Wednesday as 31-year-old Kevon Burgess. He died by suicide from a gunshot wound to the head, authorities said.  

Deputies have not said whether Burgess was the suspect in the incident, but did say that they were not looking for an outstanding suspect in their investigation.

Homicide Bureau detectives were contacted to assist Lancaster deputies with the investigation.