SLO man held neighbors hostage, said he had a gun, police say after arrest
The San Luis Obispo Police Department arrested a 20-year-old man who allegedly told neighbors he had a gun and attempted to hold them hostage Tuesday.
The incident ended in the man’s arrest after officers shot him with a non-lethal gel round; he was not seriously injured and was not found to have a weapon, police said. Two alleged victims were not injured.
At about 1:39 p.m., the San Luis Obispo Police Department said in a news release late Tuesday, police and fire personnel responded to a report of suspicious circumstances and a possible drug overdose in the 1200 block of Murray Street.
The Police Department said that the reporting party first told dispatchers that a person was overdosing, then reported the same person had a gun and was threatening to shoot responding police officers.
The man, later identified as Zachary Northup of San Luis Obispo, left his residence before officers arrived and allegedly entered a neighboring house through an open front door. Once inside, Northup allegedly told the residents he had a gun and was holding them hostage.
Northup came out of the house when officers arrived but would not comply with their orders, the Police Department said. Because they believed Northup to be armed and that he had taken a hostage, officers shot him with “one 40mm less-lethal gel baton round.”
He was taken into custody without further incident, and it was determined he had no weapon. He was transported to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center for evaluation and will be booked into the San Luis Obispo County Jail on suspicion of making criminal threats, false imprisonment and resisting an officer.
