Man arrested after standoff in Santa Monica

Suspect apprehended after a home invasion robbery in which 2 people were stabbed.

Santa Monica police took a barricaded suspect into custody after cornering him in a backyard Friday night following a nearby home invasion robbery that left two people hospitalized, one of them with serious stab wounds.

The robbery occurred about 6:20 p.m. in the 200 block of 19th Street in a residential neighborhood near Riviera Country Club, police said.

Police responding to a report of shots fired encountered the suspect, who fled into the backyard of a home in the 200 block of 20th Street and was immediately surrounded by officers. The man barricaded himself at the rear of the home but took no hostages, said Santa Monica police Lt. Saul Rodriguez.

“We are actively in negotiations with the suspect to try to call him out,” Rodriguez said about 8:45 p.m., shortly before the arrest. “We are trying to get the guy into custody as quickly and safely as possible.”

Police were investigating the possibility that a second suspect fled in a vehicle, Rodriguez said. No shots were fired in the incident, he said.

The stabbing victim suffered “significant” injuries, he said, while the other victim, who was struck with a blunt object, sustained minor injuries. Police did not identity either victim.

During the incident, residents near the 200 block of 19th Street were warned by police to stay indoors and to keep their windows and doors locked as SWAT officers engaged in a standoff with the man.

Some residents posted pictures on social media showing heavily armed officers in the area.

Police cars lined 19th Street and Georgina Avenue as neighbors came out to see what happened.

Julian Davis said he was driving near the area about 5 p.m. when he noticed police cars. He said he approached the scene and saw someone on a stretcher covered in blood. He heard a woman shouting, “My son has been stabbed, stabbed in the neck and the face!”