Sylmar Gunman Kills Self After Firing on Police

A suicidal gunman fired several rifle shots at Los Angeles police officers and took cover inside a Sylmar home Sunday, fatally shooting a horse, a dog and finally himself and forcing the closure of a freeway for several hours, authorities said.

No officers or area residents were injured during the more than two-hour standoff on Gladstone Avenue, said Officer Lorie Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department.

Police had been summoned to the home at 11:07 a.m by a caller reporting a man with a gun in the neighborhood. The gunman, identified by police as Michael Kanan, 39, shot himself in the head at about 1:25 p.m., police said.

When police entered the home, they found what was believed to be an explosive device strapped to Kanan’s body. A police bomb squad was called to the scene but determined that the device was only a safety flare inside a container, police said.

“Our indications are that he was somewhat despondent over a recent death in the family,” said Lt. Joseph Garcia.

Garcia said Kanan’s mother--who apparently lives at the Gladstone Avenue house--and several other relatives had been at the scene early on but left without being harmed or taken hostage. Officers said they believe that Kanan also lived at the house, but neighbors said they had never seen him on the property, which includes a house, large yard and barn.

Police said Kanan barricaded himself on the property, after firing several shots at the first officers who arrived on the scene. During the next two hours, as the home was surrounded by police, Kanan--who was armed with a handgun and an assault-type rifle fired several gunshots into the air, then killed himself, Taylor said.

When the shooting stopped and police went onto the property, they discovered Kanan’s body and the bodies of a horse and dog apparently killed by Kanan during the siege.

The standoff led the California Highway Patrol to close the nearby Foothill Freeway from its interchange with the Ronald Reagan Freeway to Polk Street for several hours, said CHP spokeswoman Kerri Hawkins.