CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Authorities are negotiating with an armed man who they say has been holding a family member hostage at a Clearlake home since Thursday morning.
Clearlake Police Chief Andrew White said that on Thursday morning police received a call for service regarding a person who had displayed a firearm at a home on 29th Avenue.
White said units responded and surrounded the house, and were able to get a brother of the suspect – a male adult whom police have so far not identified publicly – to come out of the house.
However, the armed male remained in the house with another family member. White said the man appeared briefly at the door, armed with a rifle, before disappearing back inside the house, keeping the family member there with him.
“He’s been noncompliant since that time and will not let the other person out of the house,” White said.
White said due to the circumstances of negotiations, they also are not identifying the person being kept inside by the armed man, and not saying if it is an adult or child.
Authorities have had a lot of communication with the man, who is so far not complying with their requests, including allowing them to execute a search warrant for the house, White said.
Police began negotiating with the man, and on Thursday morning the Lake County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team responded and took over, continuing negotiations throughout Thursday, White said.
White said officers went door to door to nearby homes and evacuated residents there. However, he said they didn’t find it necessary to do a larger evacuation.
With the focus on negotiations, and with the situation being highly dynamic, White said the police department did not send out a Nixle alert or make a Facebook post.
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office sent a SWAT team that handled the scene overnight and continued negotiations. White said at one point a helicopter also was over the scene.
During the night, White said they lost communications with the armed subject, but reestablished contact with him on Friday morning.
On Friday morning, White said the Lake County Sheriff’s Office resumed negotiations with the man. Lake County Behavioral Health has also assisted with negotiations.
White said authorities have spoken with other family members not directly involved in the situation and have no reason to believe anyone has been injured.
He said the primary focus remains negotiations and trying to diffuse the quickly changing situation.
In addition to the large law enforcement presence, White said the Lake County Fire Protection District is at the scene and on standby.
He said there are some road closures in the immediate area that they have condensed down so as to have less impact on the community.
The closures are on 29th Avenue from Boyles to Irving, Boyles between 28th and 29th avenues, and on a portion of 28th Avenue, White said.
“We do need people to stay out of those lines” and plan alternate travel routes, he said.
White said police were in contact with the Konocti Unified School District in order to reroute school buses around the area.
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Authorities involved in ongoing negotiations with armed man in Clearlake
- Elizabeth Larson
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