Fountain Valley : Shots Fired From House; 4 Arrested After Standoff

Several residents were evacuated from a Fountain Valley neighborhood Monday morning as four armed men, who reportedly fired several shots from inside a home, held police at bay for more than four hours.

Officers were called to the two-story home in 8900 block of Swallow Avenue about 5:30 a.m. after neighbors reported being awakened by gunshots in the area. Police said that four men--all believed to be residents of the house--were barricaded inside with several firearms, including 13 rifles and handguns. Homes in the neighborhood, near Magnolia Street and Garfield Avenue, were evacuated, and a special weapons team and crisis unit were called, said Fountain Valley Police Sgt. Ron Manda.

After several unsuccessful attempts to talk the suspects out of the house, officers tossed in tear gas canisters, then charged the house about 10 a.m., Manda said. The four suspects were arrested after a brief struggle, he said.

Arrested on firearms and resisting-arrest charges were Gregory Scott Meyers, 25; Joseph Ortiz, 24; Douglas D. Merryman, 29, and Emanuel Rodriguez, 24. The four were reportedly shooting inside the house and at neighboring houses but stopped before officers arrived on the scene, according to a police spokesman. Police recovered two bullets from neighboring structures.

No one was injured, Manda said, and no motive has been determined for the shooting spree. The four were booked in Orange County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail, he said.

Police said another man who left the residence about 8:45 a.m. was immediately apprehended but released after it was determined that he was unaware of the earlier shootings. He apparently was on his way to work, police said.