By Erik Luna
Monterey Park police officials have surrounded a house behind the Atlantic Square shopping complex in response to a suspected armed burglar.
According to a Monterey Park Police Department detective, who decline to give a name, the suspect is armed with a rifle.
MPPD has been on the scene since 11 a.m. and their special response team carried out the evacuation of the whole block.
They made attempts to contact the suspect, but have yet gotten a response.
Arthur Flores, the owner of the house, is on the scene and cooperating with officials. “I don’t know much, but all I know is that that’s my house and I want whoever is in there out,” Flores said. “I told them to give me two guys and to let me go knock on the door to let whoever is there know that they won’t get hurt, but that they have to get out. ”
The MPPD Special Response Team has called out to the suspect to let it be known that the house is surrounded. They haven’t gotten a response.
Resident Joseph Palos, who went out for a bike ride earlier, said that if he would have left a minute earlier he would have seen the suspect running away into Flores’ home. “I’m very protective of my community, especially because my sister’s walk around here,” Palos said. “If I would have ran into him, I probably would have done some damage to him first – then called the police.
The MPPD is not letting anyone near the vicinity and Riggin St. has been closed from Gerhart Ave. and Finley Ave.
Update 6:13 p.m.:
@ErikLuna814 My mom live 2 house down. said they fired concussion type grenades. a few minutes ago.
— Frontera Kid (@Fronterakid) September 7, 2013