SWAT Team Called To Simi Valley Home Of Man Who Allegedly Killed His Mother
SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA.com) — Officials said a SWAT team was called to a Simi Valley home Saturday to capture a suspect believed to have killed his mother.
Police told KCAL9's Bobby Kaple that a 29-year-old man murdered his mother before setting her home on fire.
The suspect, in turn, was shot and killed by police after the man drove around his neighborhood on a tractor reportedly firing at people indiscriminately.
The suspect had reportedly called his brother and told him he shot their mother to death shortly before 5 p.m.
At the same time, neighbors called police and said they heard gunfire in the 1100 block of Mellow Lane.
"I was working on this pickup truck here in the driveway and I heard five shots ring out," said Anthony Macieo, "Some time during the shots, I did hear a woman scream and then silence."
Macieo lives three doors down from the home of the murdered woman.
"About six officers with SWAT vests and assault rifles came walking up the street," Macieo said, "They told everyone to get in their houses. We stood in the garage for quite a while. I then heard a dozen, probably two dozen more shots."
The suspect reportedly shot at one woman on a bicycle (she was not injured) and aimed his gun at others. One witness said he heard the gunfire and then encountered the man on nearby Azure Hills Drive.
"He came by me and I said,'Are you shooting up there?' Then he looks at me with the gun and I said, 'Oh, you are shooting up there.' He stared at me with this really weird look on his face," said Norm Travena.
Officials said they had no choice but to take the suspect down.
"Those officers have to make quick decisions. They were saving people's lives in this neighborhood," said Stephanie Shannon with the Simi Valley Police Department.
