Neighbors On Edge As Yuba City Police Shoot Suspect In Third Domestic Call This Month
YUBA CITY (CBS13) - Yuba City police responded to a domestic violence call this week, the third in the region this month to end in gunfire.
The incident put neighbors on edge.
"Crazy. It's crazy," Shabrea Fine said.
Neighbors in Yuba City came outside Wednesday night to hear a woman screaming for help.
"She just screamed a little bit and they put her on the ground. I don't know if she was hurt or not," said one neighbor.
It started with a domestic violence call to police from inside a house on Wildflower Circle. A person inside said he was hit in the head by the suspect, and the suspect had a woman hostage at knife point with a serious injury to her neck.
Officers tried to negotiate with the suspect inside the home when police say he came out of the bedroom holding a weapon against the woman. Yuba City police say the armed suspect came toward them. That's when an officer shot the suspect.
"This is the first time something like this happened," said another neighbor.
At the house, those who say they're family declined to speak with CBS13.
"It was an emergency, I don't know, I have no idea," said one woman.
There's been a spike in domestic violence calls across the region. Law enforcement experts say these calls are the most dangerous.
"Not only do you have the dispute between the participants involved, but you have someone coming in to seize control to protect the participants to make sure everybody survives it," said John McGinness, former Sacramento County Sheriff.
In this case, officers had to navigate the risk of harm to both the suspect and the potential victims.
"Officers can minimize the likelihood of their gunfire, but honestly, there's no guarantee on that," he said.
The suspect and both victims were taken to the hospital. Though, it's not clear how badly they were hurt. The female victim was taken to a hospital in Roseville, police said. Both the male victim and the male who was shot were taken to Adventist Rideout Hospital.
The ages and identities of the people involved in the incident have not been released.
The Yuba City Police Department turned the investigation over to the Yuba-Sutter Regional Officer Involved Shooting Team.