A man accused of hitting a woman with a baseball bat prompted a SWAT standoff in Logan Heights Tuesday in which the suspect barricaded himself in a house, turned on the gas, and threatened to blow himself up.
The incident began just after 10:30 a.m., when the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) received a report of an assault with a deadly weapon at a home on 33rd and Gillette streets.
Police said a 60-year-old woman was allegedly attacked by an acquaintance wielding a baseball bat. The attack happened in the home where the victim’s mother lives.
According to investigators, the suspect – a 40-year-old man – first assaulted the victim with pepper spray in the kitchen, then chased her down the hallway and struck her several times with a baseball bat.
The man barricaded himself inside the home as dozens of SDPD patrol cars descended on the neighborhood and SWAT officers surrounded the house.
A standoff ensued.
The SDPD said the suspect turned on the gas and threatened to blow himself up inside the house. Eventually, police were able to shut down the gas.
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Just before 11:45 a.m., SWAT officers could be seen positioned at the back entrance to the house, preparing to force entry. They pushed their way through a back door.
The suspect was arrested, police confirmed.
In the dramatic final moments of the ordeal, seconds after SWAT officers entered the house, one person could be seen running out of the front door of the home, with their arms up.
Police officers ran toward that person, putting them in handcuffs. A few minutes later, that person was put on a stretcher by paramedics and placed into an ambulance.
The police department said the assault victim suffered life-threatening head injuries. No one else was hurt.
The names of the suspect and the victim were not immediately released.
