Armed Man’s Arrest Ends Nightlong Standoff

An armed man who threatened a couple with a shotgun for several hours before releasing them unharmed was arrested early Saturday after a SWAT team stormed his Mission Hills apartment, Los Angeles police said.

Gordon Wilcox, 60, was arrested about 7:30 a.m. on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after the eight-hour standoff, said Sgt. Bob Knapp of the Los Angeles Police Department. He was being held on $7,000 bail at the Van Nuys jail.

The incident began early Friday night when officers were called to the apartment complex in the 11600 block of Blucher Avenue to resolve a dispute between Wilcox and his female roommate, police said. The dispute continued, and officers were called out again about 11 p.m.

Police spent several hours trying to talk Wilcox into surrendering because they believed that he was holding the woman and an unidentified man at gunpoint, Knapp said.

Wilcox allowed the woman to leave the apartment unharmed, then released the man several hours later, he said. Wilcox had “pointed the shotgun at both of them” during the incident, Knapp said.

A woman who identified herself only as Wilcox’s roommate said she had argued with him before he barricaded himself in the two-story apartment by shoving furniture against the door, a neighbor said.

Neighbor Ray Banigan said he was allowed to remain in the complex until about 4 a.m., when he and his wife were evacuated just before a Special Weapons and Tactics team stormed the residence. The SWAT team fired three rounds of tear gas into the apartment to flush Wilcox out.

Wilcox placed his shotgun outside the door and withdrew into his apartment shortly before the SWAT team broke down the door of his apartment, fearing that he had more weapons inside. No other weapons were found, however.

Knapp said investigators have not determined why Wilcox barricaded himself in the apartment.

Wilcox moved into the apartment three months ago and did not indicate that he would have other renters, said Anna May, manager of the complex. Neighbors said Wilcox was retired and had a military background.

On the door of Wilcox’s apartment a sign reads: “There is nothing inside that is worth your life. This is protected by an armed guard.”