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Police surround Citrus Heights home after shots fired; warrant sought

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.”

Update: police obtain warrant, arrest man after shots fired in Citrus Heights home

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.

Brooktree Park is located in the southern area of Citrus Heights, about a half-mile away from Greenback Lane and Dewey Drive.

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