A manhunt for a former LAPD police officer allegedly in the midst of a revenge plot prompted at least two false alarms Thursday in San Diego.
San Diego police detective Gary Hassen said a military facility near Spanish Landing Park was placed on lockdown late-Thursday morning as U.S. Marshals searched for Christopher Jordan Dorner, a former officer wanted on suspicion of fatally shooting an Irvine couple and a Riverside police officer, and wounding at least two other officers.
The San Diego standoff happened at the Navy Gateway Inn & Suites, located at 32444 Echo Lane, Hassen said. The hotel caters to Department of Defense lodging.
Military personnel first called in the tip to San Diego police, saying there was a strong possibility that the suspect was spotted near Spanish Landing Park, Hassen said.
A man fitting the description of Dorner was believed to be barricaded in a nearby hotel, Hassen told NBC. It later turned out to be a false alarm, police said.
Dorner was believed to have stayed at Navy Gateway Inn & Suites in the days between a double homicide in Irvine on Sunday and a series of police officer shootings early Thursday, according to the SDPD.
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, who held a late-morning news conference in Los Angeles, said he could not comment on the San Diego barricade situation.
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The Navy Gateway Inn & Suites situation wasn't the only false alarm in San Diego on Thursday. Police also responded to a nearby Holiday Inn where a man with a similar description was reported.
That man told reporters he was bombarded by police and put his hands up in the air quickly.
"I didn't even want to breath," he told NBC after the incident. "You have guns pointed at you, you don't move, you don't breath, you don't blink, you don't ask why, you just do what you're told."
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At a news conference Thursday, SDPD Lt. Joseph Ramos said authorities expect a lot of misreports.
"We need to be careful," Ramos said.
The ex-officer's alleged revenge plot has put Southern California residents on edge. The California Highway Patrol issued a "blue alert" Thursday and Chief Beck described the suspect as having a "vendetta" against law enforcement.
In Torrance on Thursday, police shot and injured two people in what Beck described as likely "a case of mistaken identity."
Also Thursday, police announced that evidence in the manhunt was discovered near Lindbergh Field, reinforcing that the suspect was likely in San Diego this week.
An airport shuttle driver found Dorner's photo ID and an LAPD badge near the San Diego International Airport, also known as Lindbergh Field. The badge was turned over to Harbor police at 2:27 a.m. Thursday.
San Diego police confirmed the badge was found at the corner of Pacific Highway and Laurel Street. Several rental car companies and a gas station are located at the corner.
A separate incident in San Diego could be linked to Dorner, but authorities have not confirmed a connection.
San Diego police were called to the Southwestern Yacht Club located at 2702 Qualtrough St. for an apparent boat jacking around 10:26 p.m. Wednesday.
The 81-year-old boat owner was on his 42-foot sundeck cruiser when a "heavy set man in his 30s dressed in black clothing" robbed him, tied him up and pulled the boat out of the slip, officials said.
The man could not start the boat so he took some items from the vessel and left, according to police.
San Diego police have not confirmed if the attacker in the attempted robbery at the Yacht Club was Dorner.
Correction: An earlier version of this story erroneously reported that a badge found in San Diego was that of Dorner's. Police discovered a photo ID belonging to Dorner and an LAPD badge that's authenticity and original owner were unclear. This story has been updated.
