A man armed with a machete who barricaded himself in a Canyon Country home Thursday, prompting some evacuations and a lockdown at a nearby elementary school, was arrested after a five-hour standoff.
Deputies responded to the 274000 block of Plumwood Street Thursday around 3:15 p.m. on a report of a person with a weapon near Canyon Springs Elementary School, according to the Sheriff's Information Bureau. The man was determined to be barricaded inside a home across the street from the campus.
The school was placed on a precautionary lockdown, but a district official told the Santa Clarita Valley Signal that all students were safe. Dozens of parents could be seen amassing outside the school gates in hopes of collecting their children.
According to sheriff's officials, several homes were evacuated as a precaution.
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No injuries were immediately reported. Sheriff's Special Enforcement Bureau personnel -- the equivalent of a SWAT team -- responded to the scene and were working to make contact with the man. He was arrested around 8:45 p.m. and all evacuees were allowed to return to their residences, authorities said.
Anyone with additional information was urged to contact the LASD Santa Clarita Station at 661-255-1121. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
