A man who fired more than 100 rounds at pedestrians and law enforcement officers with a high-powered rifle and held off officers for two days has been found dead after barricading himself in a Valinda home, authorities said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies used armored vehicles to prevent bullets from hitting neighboring homes, and residents near where the man had entrenched himself were forced to evacuate their homes as the tense standoff continued into Sunday. .
The suspect was identified Monday by sheriff’s officials as 45-year-old Brandon Ursa. No further details about Ursa were released.
The suspect was found inside the home Sunday after committing suicide, Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said in Twitter.
Deputies were called to Wing Lane and Azusa Avenue Friday afternoon after receiving reports of an assault with a deadly weapon, authorities said.
Armed with a high-powered rifle, a man fired at officers as they arrived in the area, authorities said. Deputies returned fire and the man barricaded himself inside a home in the 16900 block of Wing Lane, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Chief Jorge Valdez said. During his communication with negotiators, the suspect did not give a clear indication as to why he had opened fire on Friday, Lt. Calvin Mah said during the news conference.
A woman was injured, but not shot, in the incident.
Ten neighborhood families were displaced over the weekend as crisis negotiators and the sheriff’s Office of Special Enforcement tried to end the standoff.
The families were placed at a nearby hotel, but it was unclear when they would be able to return home due to the ongoing investigation, authorities said Sunday.
Lt. Tom Giandomenico of the sheriff’s Office of Special Enforcement said more than 100 shots were fired from the home.
The officials drilled holes in the roof of the house to place cameras inside the house, hoping to see the situation. The officers also pepper-sprayed the home, hoping to make the shooter feel uncomfortable and make it more difficult for him to shoot himself out of the home, Giandomenico said.
Authorities said the gunman was alone inside the house, but despite constant contact with crisis negotiators, the situation remained tense until Sunday.
“I could tell you at 2 in the morning (Sunday), he was still swearing and texting about his ability to want to hurt us and our staff,” Giandomenico said at a news conference Sunday.
The house belonged to a girlfriend of the gunman, he said.
At 4 p.m. Sunday, officers entered the home and found Ursa dead inside, Valdez said.
The official cause of death has yet to be determined, authorities said, but investigators said an examination of Ursa’s body found cuts on her wrists that appeared to have been self-inflicted.
