Deputies detain man with a rifle on Zabala Road, shelter-in-place lifted
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV)- The Monterey County Sheriff's Office advises people to avoid the area of Zabala Road.
A man holding a rifle walking near the area hasd deputies respond to the area. Salinas Police said a suspect is in custody.
Deputies said the man fired rounds in the air before arriving. When officers arrived, the man fired more rounds into the ground.
Deputies said after a while, the man took the magazine out of the long rifle and surrendered.
“This could have been really bad, we had an individual in a wide area with a long rifle," said Monterey County Undersheriff Keith Boyd. "We have farm community, we have farm workers working in the field”
The sheriff's office has lifted a shelter-in-place for Zabala Road south of Williams Road, west of Alisal Road, east of Old Stage Road, and north of the intersection of Alisal Raod/Old Stage Road until further notice.
“We’re just very happy that we were able to peacefully resolve this with no members of the community being harmed," said Boyd.
The sheriff's office is still determining whether to file this as a criminal investigation or mental health case. They are unsure of the suspect's intent.
