CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake man who held two women hostage at gunpoint Thursday morning was shot and wounded by police.
Brenden Fanucchi, 25, was shot in the confrontation with police, according to Lt. Tim Celli of the Clearlake Police Department.
At approximately 8:06 a.m. Thursday Clearlake Police Dispatch received a call on the nonemergency line from an anonymous male, who told dispatch he heard a female yelling for someone to “put the gun down” at a residence located in the 16050 block of 18th Avenue, Celli said.
Celli said Clearlake Police officers arrived on scene and contacted subjects at the residence who reported that a male – identified as Fanucchi – was armed with a gun and holding two women captive inside the attached garage.
Officers cleared the residence of any additional occupants, however, Celli said Fanucchi refused to let one woman go, while threatening to kill her. Fanucchi also warned officers not to come inside the garage.
Celli said officers pleaded for a lengthy period of time with Fanucchi to let the hostage go.
At some point during the confrontation with Fanucchi, Celli said it was apparent to police that there was an imminent threat to the female hostage's life and officers entered the garage.
Celli said that, at that time, shots were fired, with Fanucchi suffering apparent gunshot wounds.
Fanucchi was flown to an out-of-county hospital for treatment. An officer on scene suffered a minor injury not related to gunshots, Celli said.
Fanucchi was the apparent victim in an October 2011 stabbing in Austin Park. However, neither he nor witnesses in that case were cooperative with police as they attempted to investigate the assault, as Lake County News has reported.
The Lake County District Attorney’s Office has assumed the investigation into the Thursday officer-involved shooting, according to Celli.
Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to either call Det. Mark Barnes at Clearlake Police Department, 707-994-8251, or the Lake County District Attorney’s Office, 707-263-2251.