Message From Suspect's Mother Helps Bring Tense Hours-Long Standoff In Pacoima To End

PACOIMA (CBSLA.com) — A man surrendered to authorities Thursday after they say he held them at bay for several hours in Pacoima.

Police said the standoff unfolded after officers received a call from a woman reporting that she had been pistol-whipped and burned by a cigarette.

"A lady had reported that she was pistol-whipped, burned by a cigarette and also that a round was fired at her in the last several days," Los Angeles Police Department Lt. John Jenal said.

When officers arrived to a complex in the 12000 block of Osborne Place about 10 a.m., they said the man retreated into his apartment and took another woman inside with him.

The standoff prompted some precautionary evacuations of nearly two dozen residents and several families had to be escorted from a bedroom window to the ground by officers.

The suspect was reported to have surrendered just before 7 p.m. after six hours as a result of tear gas and a recorded message from the man's mother in Texas.

"A SWAT officer brought a speaker system up nearby to the apartments so that the message from the mother back in Texas could be played," the lieutenant said. "Another great strategy resulting in a peaceful resolution."

The suspect's name has not been released.