Citrus Heights police confirmed Thursday evening that a man suspected of firing multiple shots inside a home near Brooktree Park has been arrested for negligent discharge of a firearm. The man, whose name police did not release, was arrested without injury or further incident, according to Sgt. Jason Baldwin.
The arrest brings some closure to an incident that occurred Wednesday night, involving reports of shots fired at a residence on the 6900 block of Brookcrest Way and a heavy police response with helicopter activity. Although police initially surrounded the home and then pulled back, Baldwin said detectives were later able to secure a warrant for his arrest on Thursday and also “recovered multiple firearms from the location.”
“While these incidents may cause alarm to the public, CHPD did not feel that the public were in danger at any time,” Baldwin told The Sentinel in an email statement. Police believe the man may have a mental illness.
Brooktree Park is located in the southern area of Citrus Heights, about a half-mile away from Greenback Lane and Dewey Drive.
See original story below for additional details.
March 30, 9:54 a.m.– Reports of shots fired Wednesday night at a Citrus Heights residence led to a heavy police response and helicopter activity near Brooktree Park, police confirmed Thursday morning.
Sgt. Jason Baldwin said police surrounded a home on the 6900 block of Brookcrest Way after responding officers “heard additional gun shots and saw what they believed to be muzzle flashes inside the residence.” He said the home was surrounded for several hours, but officers were eventually called off around midnight after making contact with a man inside and concluding that he “may be living with a mental illness.”
“Once we determined the subject was alone, that the house was empty with the exception of the subject, and that there was no public at risk, we pulled back from the location and are seeking a warrant through the district attorney’s office,” the sergeant said. He confirmed that an officer was also left in the area “for emergency purposes, should they be needed.”
Baldwin said the investigation is ongoing, but said no threats to the public were made and officers do not believe there is a risk to the public at-large. He also confirmed no one was injured and said there are no outstanding subjects being sought.
“If somebody is… a danger to themselves in their own house, that doesn’t mean that the police department must go in there,” Baldwin said, explaining why officers chose not the enter the residence. “If he’s a danger to himself in his own house, many times law enforcement are not going to risk their own lives for someone who is a danger to himself or potentially escalate the situation into a deadly force incident.”
Asked what future steps will be taken, Baldwin said if a warrant is issued, officers will “seek to somehow serve the warrant in a peaceful manner.” The department will also continue to “investigate any possible crime” involved.
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