An armed man was shot and killed by California police Friday inside an assisted living home after allegedly taking two people hostage.
The incident happened at Aegis Living Fremont on Walnut Avenue. Multiple calls to police reported an armed man at the facility around 3:38 p.m., the Fremont Police Department said in a news release.
“The man was reported to be holding a firearm and carrying a duffel bag,” Sergeant Cooper Mauldin told reporters Friday. “The suspect was last seen in a meeting room and was reported to be holding two people hostage.”
Officers located the man inside the facility and shot him, police said. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
No residents, staff members or officers were injured during the incident. The identities of the suspect and the two hostages have not been released. Police say there is no threat to public safety at this time.
The incident allegedly stemmed from a family dispute, the owners of Aegis Living told ABC7.
Police have not released details about what led up to the shooting, including whether the suspect threatened officers with the weapon or whether the two hostages were still in the room when shots were fired.
The type of weapon the man was carrying has yet to be disclosed. Fremont police said that after officers examined the weapon more closely, they requested the California Department of Justice take over the investigation.
Under California law, the DOJ is required to investigate incidents in which law enforcement officers kill an unarmed person.
When asked by ABC 7 whether the suspect may have been carrying a replica or imitation firearm, Fremont police declined to provide further details, the outlet reports.
The Independent has contacted the Fremont Police Department and Aegis Living for comment.
The incident left residents and their families shaken. One man told ABC7 he arrived at the facility to take his mother out to dinner and instead found the building surrounded by police.
“When I saw my mom at the front door, that was kind of a little bit of a relief,” he said. “I don’t know who’s involved. I don’t know what’s going on, and so I would not expect what happened over here today is something that would take place at a senior center.”
Anyone with information about the shooting or the incident is asked to contact the Fremont Police Department’s Investigations Unit at 510-790-6900 or text a tip to FremontPD at 888-777 as the investigation continues.
