SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A La Jolla man suspected of firing two gunshots inside his condominium Friday -- causing no injuries -- was holed up in the residence for several hours before following officers' orders to come outside unarmed and surrender, authorities reported.
A friend of a person who lives at the complex in the 3200 block of Via Marin reported the gunfire about 9:30 a.m., saying it had occurred about two hours earlier, according to San Diego police. The resident apparently did not immediately alert authorities himself because he does not speak English, SDPD public-affairs Lt. Kevin Mayer said.
The caller said his friend heard a shot go off next door shortly before 7:30 a.m., then heard a second report about five minutes later and saw bullet holes appear on interior walls on both sides of his residence, Mayer said.
Patrol personnel cleared residents out of part of the complex as a sergeant at the scene tried to contact the suspect by telephone. The man -- who could be seen pacing around inside the condo and peeking out a window -- answered one of the calls but promptly hung up.
"Once we have gunshots and a male inside that refuses to come out... He's considered armed and dangerous at that point," Lt. Tom Underwood said.
The standoff continued until shortly after noon, when the suspect, identified as 63-year-old Alan Deller, exited and was taken into custody without further incident.
Roads in the area were blocked off leaving people like Mary McCue stranded.
"I just thought it was going to be quick and they were going to arrest him but obviously something else must be going on because he's not surrendering," she said.
She decided to go in anyway.
"You're always going to have that, when you lock-down a scene, especially this large for an extended period of time," Lt. Underwood said. "You're going to have people that get frustrated and we understand that, but for their own safety we had to keep them back."
Deller was expected to be booked into county jail on suspicion of discharging a firearm inside an occupied structure and possessing a switchblade.
The motive for the gunfire remained unknown in the late afternoon.
"No idea at this point, he's not talking to detectives," Lt. Underwood said.