A man who allegedly threatened his wife with a straight-edged razor at their San Ysidro home Thursday holed up inside by himself when offices arrived to question him, prompting a 3 1/2-hour standoff that ended when police gave up trying to get the suspect to surrender.

The domestic dispute in the 100 block of Mount Carmel Drive, just west of Interstate 805 and south of state Route 905, was reported shortly after 11:30 a.m., according to San Diego police.

The wife left the residence unharmed prior to the arrival of patrol personnel, said Sgt. Michael Stirk. When the officers tried to contact her 39-year-old husband, however, he refused repeated orders to surrender, the sergeant said.

Administrators at nearby Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, a Catholic K-9 campus, secured pupils and staffers inside classrooms and offices as police tried to persuade the suspect to give himself up.

A police “primary response team” — a special-operations squad smaller in scope than a SWAT contingent — was called in to take up positions outside the home.

At about 4 p.m., police commanders opted to call off the operation and pull officers out of the area, Sgt. Michael Tansey said. It was not immediately clear why that decision was made, though Tansey noted that the suspect was wanted for a misdemeanor offense, his identity was known, and the alleged victim was out of harm’s way.

Officers will seek to contact the suspect, whose name was not released, at a later time for questioning in the case, Tansey said.

BREAKING: Barricaded suspect in San ysidro prompts lockdown of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School https://t.co/Ui9syRF6Zf pic.twitter.com/b3F6CezoB9

— CBS News 8 (@CBS8) September 20, 2018

Updated at 5:10 p.m. Sept. 20, 2018

— City News Service

>> Subscribe to Times of San Diego’s free daily email newsletter! Click here