San Bruno police stand-off follows home burglary
SAN BRUNO, Calif. - San Bruno police said a residential burglary led to an hours long stand-off Sunday near the corner of Poplar Jenevein avenues. It all started before 6 a.m., when a suspect began banging on the front door of the home. The residents called police, but the man found another way into the home before police arrived.
"They wouldn't let him in, they called the cops, and I guess he entered in through a window," Todd Girish, a neighbor on Poplar Avenue told KTVU.
When officers responded to the burglary, they safely evacuated the home's residents as well as the surrounding neighbors. The suspect, however, refused to leave the home.
Authorities warned residents to avoid the area just west of San Francisco International Airport due to heavy police presence during the stand-off.
Poplar Avenue has a cul-de-sac on one end of the street, and some residents tell KTVU that they were stuck inside their homes for the duration of the standoff, as the blockades kept them from leaving in their vehicles.
After several hours, the suspect complied and police detained him, authorities said.
The victims in the home invasion briefly spoke with KTVU and said they are okay, but they are still cleaning up the mess that this situation left behind.
Pacific Gas and Electric company was also on site Sunday afternoon to reconnect the gas lines that had been disabled by police during the incident.
"It is weird, it's not something you see every day fortunately, but yeah we saw the announcement; it's best to follow the advice of the authorities," neighbor Geoff Lin told KTVU.
Lin served time in the military, and he says he became familiar with barricaded suspects while in the service. He was glad to see that many residents on the street followed police advice.
"As low a percentage as stray rounds might be, it's best to cut that percentage right down to a minimum, so just shelter in place," Lin said.
Police said there were no injuries to the suspect or the officers. Neighbors on the street say they were grateful that police were able to defuse the situation without serious injuries or loss of life.
"In my book, especially with my background, that goes by as a textbook case of something that went by very well."