Suspect wanted to commit ‘Suicide by Cop’
CAPITOLA—Members of the Santa Cruz County SWAT Team along with Capitola Police arrested 24-year-old Capitola resident James Gomez after he held police in a standoff for several hours at the city’s Corporation Yard with numerous rifles and apparent thoughts of ‘Suicide by Cop’.
On Sunday night at 10:20 p.m. Capitola Police responded to a report of gunshots heard near Bay Avenue. A short while later police received a call from Gomez’s father stating that his son was suicidal and wanted to die by the hand of police.
Gomez himself called 911, stating to dispatchers that he was armed and he was distraught. At that point, a city watch alert went out to the surrounding neighborhood of Capitola’s Corporation Yard on Kennedy Drive. Numerous agencies from around the County responded the incident, including Capitola Police, The Santa Cruz County SWAT Team, the California Highway Patrol, and the California States Parks Rangers.
Negotiators with the Santa Cruz County SWAT Team negotiated with Gomez for several hours before he agreed to surrender peacefully at the city’s Corporation Yard on the 400 block of Kennedy Drive.
“Capitola Police and the SWAT Team of Santa Cruz County located and seized two rifles, numerous round of ammunition, a tactical military style vest and a knife in the area where Gomez surrendered.” Capitola Police Sergeant Mark Gonzalez said in a press release.
Gomez was transported and admitted to Dominican Hospital’s Behavioral Health Unit for evaluation before being taken into custody. No one was injured in this incident.
The Capitola Police Department is asking anyone with information regarding this incident to call the Police Department at 1-831-475-4242.
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Santa Cruz Sentinel: Gunman surrenders after standoff in Capitola
