Local News in Brief : Armed Man Eludes Police SWAT Team
An armed man barricaded inside a Canoga Park condominium eluded a Los Angeles Police Department special weapons team early Sunday when he escaped in the night, police said.
The Special Weapons and Tactics team was called at 10:30 p.m. Saturday after receiving a report that an unidentified man had fired a gun and then locked himself inside a condominium in the 8400 block of De Soto Avenue, Sgt. Kent Setty said.
Setty said the incident stemmed from the suspect’s effort to collect a $1,000 debt from a man who lives in the condominium complex. The two men argued and the suspect went to his car to retrieve a .44 magnum and .38-caliber revolver, he said.
Setty said the suspect fired five rounds from one of the guns in the direction of the other man, identified as Derrick Brandon, 30, who fled the condominium. The suspect then locked himself inside, Setty said.
The 12-member SWAT team blocked off surrounding streets and evacuated six condominiums, he said, and at 3 a.m. fired six rounds of tear gas into the unit.
But officers found no one inside when they entered at 4 a.m., Setty said, although they discovered the two guns and a small quantity of what appeared to be cocaine.
A loaded shotgun owned by Brandon also was found on the patio, he said.
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