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18 Hours And Counting: Deputies In Long Standoff With Armed Woman At Woodland Hills Mobile Home Park

WOODLAND HILLS (CBSLA.com) — Deputies Thursday were in a standoff with a 70-year-old woman threatening to shoot people inside a mobile-home park in Woodland Hills.

Los Angeles County fighters contacted the LA County Sheriff's Department about 5:45 a.m. to report a person in distress in the clubhouse at Woodland Park Mobile Estates, 4201 Topanga Canyon Blvd.

When authorities arrived, the unidentified woman was being attended to by paramedics when she pulled out a firearm and pointed it at a firefighter and deputies.

She then fled between mobile homes and barricaded herself in a back yard, officials said.

"I heard a lot of yelling, like 'Get down! Get down!' " resident Sherri Delaplane said.

Residents in surrounding homes were asked to evacuate.

"She wanted to kill all cops, then our government, people who watch TV too much. I mean, she wasn't well," resident Karen McCauley said.

Crisis negotiators were attempting to make contact with the woman.

"We're using less-lethal shields, robots, and we're trying to go as slow and as compassionate as we can at this point," Sheriff's Department Capt. Patrick Daveren said.

At one point, she fired twice at a robot.

CBS2's Jeff Nguyen, reporting from the scene, said at one point the woman could be seen using a broom to try to push away the robot. She could also be seen throwing a towel over the robot.

The Fire Department even used a hose but as of 4:30 p.m., the woman has refused to give up.

"I went to my bedroom. I open the door. And I saw a woman waiting there [outside]. She's shivering, and I ask her to leave. She said, 'No, I cannot leave.' I said well you're not supposed to be here. She said 'Well, I'm here and I cannot walk.' And I raised my voice and she put the gun on me. And I back up and I close the door," said neighbor Gabriel Vahva.

Nguyen also spoke to a neighbor who said the woman has never been a problem.

"She is very kind. She's always been very pleasant to us, everyone. We walk by we say hi. She's got lots of kitty cats. She's a great lady. For her to do this, it doesn't make any sense. The only thing I can think of is that she's very depressed," said Denise Folling.

As of 11 p.m., the standoff was continuing.

Officials told CBS2's Daut they don't remember a longer or stranger standoff as hour 18 approached.

No injuries have been reported.

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