By Andrea Cavanaugh, Los Angeles Daily News
A Woodland Hills elementary school was locked down for more than an hour Monday afternoon when a despondent Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy armed with a handgun held police at bay from inside his home for more than four hours, authorities said.
The man, whose name was not released, surrendered about 7:40 p.m. He was being questioned late Monday, said LAPD Officer Eduardo Funes.
Police were called to the home in the 4800 block of Abbeyville Avenue about 3:30 p.m. after neighbors reported hearing between six and 15 gunshots, said LAPD Sgt. Richard Andert.
Police recovered three handguns when the man, reported to be in his 40s, surrendered. He was uninjured. The man’s wife and children were not at home when he began firing his weapon, Andert said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigators were sent to the scene to assist the LAPD in negotiating with the deputy, said Deputy Don Manumaleuna.
The man was upset about “personal issues,” Andert said. He would not elaborate.
Police spoke with him by phone throughout the standoff. At one point he complained about the half-dozen news helicopters circling the house, Andert said.
About 40 children enrolled in an after-school program at the nearby Calabash Street School were on the playground when the standoff began, Principal Susan Shaffer said. Low-flying helicopters alerted school officials that something was wrong, she said.
The children stayed in the school’s auditorium until after 4:30 p.m., when frantic parents began picking them up, Shaffer said.
“We saw the helicopters and herded them in,” she said. “The parents were 100 percent more scared than the kids.”
Mark Huston came to the school about 4:45 p.m. to pick up his 9-year-old son and was surprised to see dozens of police officers.
“I’m driving down the street and my kid’s school was surrounded by police cars,” he said. “Yeah, I was scared. It’s nerve-racking.”