Neighbors react to deadly Paso Robles shootout with police, SWAT: ‘We were terrified’
Residents of a Paso Robles apartment complex that was the scene of a deadly shootout said they spent much of Monday night and early Tuesday morning sitting scared in their apartments.
Members of the San Luis Obispo Regional Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team shot and killed an armed suspect around 1:15 a.m. Tuesday after the man barricaded himself in an apartment and fired at officers, the Paso Robles Police Department said.
Police identified the man as Steven Adam Calderon, 32, most recently of Los Angeles.
The hours-long standoff took place at Dry Creek Apartments, a large apartment complex near the 2400 block of Branch Creek Circle that is home to families with children on summer break from school.
Many residents primarily speak Spanish.
Residents told The Tribune they heard gunshots and listened to the SWAT team negotiate with Calderon over a loudspeaker.
They said police evacuated some people living close to the scene of the standoff, while other neighborhood residents stayed inside and watched the situation until early Tuesday morning.
Some didn’t know what was going on, and they feared being shot while negotiations were taking place.
Keana Gilbert said police began telling neighbors to stay away from the area near the scene about 6 p.m. Monday.
She and her children could hear gunshots and saw SWAT team members negotiating with Calderon until early Tuesday morning.
“We were terrified, especially when the shooting started,” Gilbert said.
She said she could hear Calderon yelling curse words at the SWAT team and telling them to kill him, even as officers gave him opportunities to surrender.
Gilbert and other residents said they usually feel safe at Dry Creek Apartments, and the shooting and standoff came as a surprise.
“I don’t really have any concerns,” Gilbert said. “That’s why it was such a huge shock.”
