A 22-year-old man was arrested following a seven-hour standoff at a Santee Walmart store where he threatened to use dumbbells as weapons to hurt people and threatened deputies with a hatchet, authorities said Monday.
The incident started at noon Sunday at the Walmart in the 100 block of Town Center Parkway, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
The man entered the store and went to the sporting goods department, where he climbed on top of the shelves before arming himself with dumbbells and threatening to use them as weapons, sheriff’s officials said.
Arriving deputies found the man in possession of two knives and a hatchet, threatening to kill deputies and he told them he wanted deputies to kill him, sheriff’s officials said.
The store was evacuated and sheriff’s SWAT and crisis negotiations teams were summoned, officials said.
Negotiators determined the man was experiencing a mental health crisis, sheriff’s officials said. He told deputies to shoot him and walked toward them with a hatchet raised.
A peaceful surrender was achieved after seven hours, officials said. The man was taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation.
