San Diego

A man who barricaded himself inside a Palomar Mountain cabin was shot and killed by SWAT team officers Sunday night after a tense nine-hour standoff.

The man, who had spent all day holed up inside his home near the Fry Campground area, was shot by two sheriff’s deputies at 8:30 p.m. after he emerged from the cabin and fired a rifle in the deputies’ direction, according to Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Bob Takeshta.

Takeshta declined to name the man who was shot, but he was identified earlier in the day by sheriff’s deputies as Dale Thomas Burton, 32.

The incident, which began around 11 a.m., was reportedly fueled by an unrelated argument Burton had with his neighbors the previous day. On Sunday, Burton, apparently still agitated, then argued with his father and at one point threatened to strike the older man with the butt of a high-powered rifle. His father ran from the cabin and called the Valley Center sheriff’s substation, Takeshta said.

When deputies arrived, they saw the suspect standing behind a tree near his house, holding a rifle, Takeshta said. The deputies were unable to talk the man into surrendering his weapon, and he then barricaded himself inside the house. The SWAT team was then called to assist.

The standoff ended shortly after 8:30 p.m. when Burton reportedly came out of the house and fired one round toward the two deputies, who were not named. They returned fire, killing Burton near the front porch, officials said. No one else was injured in the exchange of gunfire, Takeshta said.