SAN DIEGO — After five tense hours, the shooter-SWAT standoff that shut down San Diego International Airport came to a close on Wednesday with the suspect’s surrender and no deaths in the Banker’s Hill neighborhood.
The events began to unfold about 9:12 a.m., San Diego police told Breitbart News.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that a woman had contacted police over fears that an ex-boyfriend had made his way into her condo.
Police attempting to enter the apartment were met with shots from suspect, according to the report. At least one officer returned fire. The shooter later fired at a nearby building. Streets were shut down. Incoming airport traffic was halted by an officer with the San Diego Police Department (SDPD). Snipers took aim at the shooter’s location. At least two schools were put on lockdown as a precaution.
Live television news reports caught the sounds of gunshots during the standoff.
About two-and-a-half hours into the standoff Officer Travis Easter with the San Diego Police Department told Breitbart News that local residents were being told to “stay indoors and find shelter.”
The situation remained volatile at many points throughout the day. In the midst of negotiations with the suspect, he would intermittently fire shots. The U-T reported, “SWAT officers shot tear gas into the penthouse several times and sent in robots to scope the place out.” The report described the suspect’s weapons as a handgun and a high-powered rifle. The handgun was thrown out of the residence during the course of the standoff and the AK-47 was dropped out of the window along with a magazine.
The suspect finally gave up around 2:40 p.m., according to the report. Following the suspect’s surrender, police identified the man as 33-year-old Titus Colbert. Court documents cited by the U-T record a gang detective identifying Colbert as the member of a Southeastern San Diego gang. Records also detailed Colbert’s convictions involving weapons, assault and illegal drugs. Colbert’s brother is on death row for killing two men in 2004.
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