Home catches fire during standoff with suspect in police shootings
FREMONT, Calif. -- A home where a suspect in the shooting of two Northern California police officers had barricaded himself was ablaze after a tense early morning standoff Thursday, CBS San Francisco reports.
Alameda County sheriff's deputies made contact with the armed suspect at around 2 a.m. and later fired gas canisters into the house in an effort to get the suspect to come out.
The effort may have ignited a fire in the home.
Authorities said the suspect broke into the home, which is located near where two Fremont police officers were shot on Wednesday afternoon. There has been no contact with the suspect since the fire erupted.
After initially attempting to fight the blaze, firefighters backed off and were allowing the home to burn. SWAT officers surrounded the home and nearby houses were evacuated.
"He told us he had a gun, so we are not in any hurry," said Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. Ray Kelly.
Around 6:45 a.m., the fire started to intensify and firefighters moved closer to fight the blaze.
Members of the suspect's family had been brought to the scene early in negotiations but could not convince him to surrender.
The sheriff's office first reported the suspect was located around midnight during an intense manhunt.
The two officers were shot Wednesday afternoon during two confrontations.
The incident started with a traffic stop at 1:33 p.m.
After the suspect pulled over, he backed into a patrol car, and there was an exchange of gunfire, Fremont police spokeswoman Officer Geneva Bosques said.
The first officer was injured in the gunfire.
The suspect pulled forward again and ran from the traffic stop. Police started searching for the suspect, and he was located about 10 minutes later.
Gunfire was exchanged again, and a detective was shot multiple times, police said.
Both officers were taken to the hospital, and one of the officers was out of surgery Wednesday night but remained in critical condition.
On Thursday morning, authorities lifted a shelter-in-place order for the area.
Fremont police reported late Wednesday night there were no plans to close any schools on Thursday.