Clearlake standoff ends with suspect in custody; child held hostage safely surrendered
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A standoff that began in Clearlake on Thursday morning ended early Friday evening as authorities took a man into custody and were able to safely retrieve a child the man had held hostage.
Clearlake Police Chief Andrew White said shortly after 6 p.m. Friday that the Lake County Sheriff’s SWAT Team had taken 31-year-old Francisco Morales-Gomez of Clearlake into custody without incident after he surrendered the child.
A 6-year-old child who had been kept in the house since Thursday morning is safe and in medical custody, White said.
“The child appears healthy,” White said.
Authorities had been in negotiations with Morales-Gomez since Thursday morning, after they responded to a residence at 29th and Boyles avenues on the report of a male subject at the home who had displayed a firearm.
White told Lake County News that Morales-Gomez had let his brother leave the home but, after appearing briefly at the door of the residence armed with a rifle, Morales-Gomez disappeared back into the house, keeping the child with him.
Police subsequently evacuated some homes in the immediate area and closed nearby streets while the situation unfolded, White said.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team as well as the SWAT Team from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office took turns negotiating with Morales-Gomez over a 33-hour-long period before the situation ended, White said.
White said the Lake County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team was able to continue negotiations with Morales-Gomez, who passed the child to out to them Friday evening before trying to go out a window.
The SWAT Team took Morales-Gomez into custody at that point, White said.
The Clearlake Police Department thanked the Lake County Sheriff's Office, Sonoma County Sheriff's Office, Mendocino County Sheriff-Coroner, California Highway Patrol, Fish and Wildlife and Lake County Fire for their assistance in peacefully resolving the situation.
Additional details will be published as they become available.
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