By Carolyn Jones
The San Francisco Chronicle
EL SOBRANTE, Calif. — An eight-hour standoff between law enforcement officers and an armed man in El Sobrante ended early Sunday when police stormed the suspect’s apartment and found him dead.
Officials identified the man as Andrew Harper, 43, of El Sobrante. They did not say whether he killed himself or was shot by police. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday.
“It’s something we’re still trying to sort out,” said Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Jimmy Lee.
The incident started at 7:15 p.m. Saturday with a complaint of domestic battery at a restaurant on the 4700 block of Appian Way in El Sobrante. When officers arrived, Harper, his wife and his three children had already left.
Officers then found Harper at the family’s home, in an apartment complex on the 4300 block of San Pablo Dam Road. Harper’s wife and children soon emerged, Lee said, but Harper remained in the apartment, armed with a gun, and refused to leave.
For eight hours, officers tried to persuade Harper to surrender.
At one point, police “perceived a hostile threat,” and at least one officer fired, Lee said.
At 3:16 Sunday morning, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team broke into the apartment and found Harper dead. Lee did not say how many officers fired their weapons or which agencies those officers were from.
Copyright 2011 San Francisco Chronicle