FLIGHTS INTERRUPTED AT SAN DIEGO Gunman surrenders after standoff

Posted on 11/05/2015 | About San Diego, California

A gunman in a rooftop apartment surrendered to police Wednesday after a more than five-hour standoff that interrupted air traffic at the San Diego airport. The suspect, armed with a high-powered rifle, shot numerous rounds from his ex-girlfriend's apartment complex near San Diego International Airport, prompting the FAA to halt incoming flights for several hours as a precaution.

The apartment building is under the airport's approach path, and planes swoop low near the neighbourhood before landing.

Planes were allowed to depart from the airport, but many departures were affected because of the lack of incoming flights. In the end, about 30 arriving and departing flights were cancelled and another 30 or so were diverted to other airports, said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.

Authorities asked people in the area to stay inside and keep away from windows as they surrounded the building. Schools in the area were placed on lockdown.

Titus Colbert, 33, walked out of the complex after tossing “multiple weapons” out an apartment window, San Diego Police Lt. Scott Wahl said. Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said authorities recovered an “AK-47-type” assault weapon and a handgun.

Colbert's ex-girlfriend called police shortly after 9 a.m. to report that she feared the suspect was inside her apartment, Zimmerman said. Police entered the apartment after no one responded to knocks and were met with gunfire.

The shots came “within inches” of police, who returned fire as they retreated, Wahl said.

Police quickly established communication with Colbert. But as they evacuated neighbouring homes and established a perimeter in the trendy Bankers Hill neighbourhood near downtown, Colbert fired additional shots from a balcony. About a dozen officers were seen running down the street, several with rifles drawn and stopping to aim.

Wahl said at one point the gunman was “shooting in all different directions.”

Tom Neu, who lives next door to the rooftop apartment, said he was working at home on his computer when he heard a bang. He went to his balcony, saw a hole in the stucco wall that separates the two apartments, and called 911.

For about 40 minutes, he cowered in his bathtub, talking to friends and co-workers on his cellphone. He said it was terrifying.

Neu heard numerous shots before a SWAT team came to his unit. Police gave him instructions over the phone on where to walk inside the apartment, and rescuers led him downstairs.

Colbert was taken into custody around 2:30 pm. He was to be booked on charges of “attempted murder of several police officers.”