Search continues for armed suspect who shot at CHP officer in south Sacramento
SACRAMENTO — Residents evacuated from their homes in south Sacramento have been allowed to return as the search for a suspect who was engaged in a standoff with law enforcement continues.
Authorities had crime scene tape set up along the 7700 block of Southland Way. Residents there were evacuated from their homes.
At around 4:30 p.m., a California Highway Patrol South Sacramento officer responded to the area after receiving a complaint. When the officer arrived at the front of the residence, a suspect fired multiple shots at them before fleeing, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said.
The CHP officer did not return fire and was not injured.
Sacramento County sheriff's deputies were assisting the California Highway Patrol in a search for the suspect. A perimeter was established near the home the suspect was believed to be inside.
Sgt. Amar Gandhi with the sheriff's office said just after 11 p.m. that part of the home was cleared but the suspect was not located. Law enforcement officials were going to continue searching the rest of the home as well as the surrounding neighborhood.
Security footage from inside neighbors Jed and Luticia O'Neil's home shows the moment they heard 10-12 loud pops coming from outside.
"She went to look outside the window to see what was exactly going on," Jed said. "She saw the gun and everything and then I immediately got on the phone and called 911."
Luticia was unable to see what her neighbor was shooting at, but she was able to tell dispatchers what he was wearing and where he was going.
"She was very descriptive of where he was going, like, 'Oh south on Southland Way. He's going right here, left there," Jed said.
The shooting prompted a massive law enforcement response. A helicopter overhead with a loudspeaker was warning neighbors in the area.
"They said, 'Stay indoors,' and 'Lock your doors,' and 'Be cautious,' " neighbor Cilas Freeman said.
Early Thursday morning, deputies allowed evacuated residents to return home.
The sheriff's office says they're looking into a possibly related incident along Southland Way where a person was carjacked while she was filling up her tires. The suspect in that incident vaguely matches the description of the standoff suspect, deputies say.
