After a three-hour standoff with SWAT and other officials, a man surrendered outside a home in Brea Friday afternoon — following a random attack on a woman just across the street.
At about 10:30 a.m., the woman was getting ready for a trip and packing up her van just outside her home along West Hodson Avenue when a random stranger approached her, she said.
He was later identified by local authorities as 46-year-old Jim Scott McGee of Santa Ana.
“I asked him, ‘Can I help you?’ and he just grabbed me and started beating me on the left side of my face,” said Robin Simon, 63.
“So when he finally let go, I called my sons and they came to my rescue,” she said.
One of her sons came running out of the home and went after the attacker, throwing a hit at him, as he told KTLA.
“I went after the guy to get him away, and then he tried to swing at me. So I swung first and I won,” said Frank Simon, one of Robin’s sons.
At that point, his brother came out, and they tried holding the attacker down, the family said. But the assailant ended up getting his hands on a brick and hammer while yelling things that didn’t make sense, according to Simon.
“The subject became irritated,” said Brea police Lt. Adam Hawley. “He actually threatened the family members with a firearm, although no firearms were seen. He then got up and ran to a nearby residence and barricaded himself inside.”
From there, SWAT officers and other law enforcement officials were called to the scene and tried negotiating with him to get him to surrender.
UPDATE 12:00pm Officers are onscene working a barricaded suspect on the 1400 block W. Hodson & SWAT is on scene. Neighborhood residence have been evacuated & we are asking you to stay away from the area. Any media inquires should be directed to Lt. Adam Hawley at 714-507-5062.
— Brea Police Dept (@BreaPD) June 8, 2018
Just after 2 p.m., video of the scene showed a man being led out of the home by uniformed officers as he was taken into custody.
At approximately 2:10 the suspect surrendered peacefully. SWAT cleared the house and yard, however detectives remain on scene. Thank you to SWAT and all surrounding agencies who assisted us today.
— Brea Police Dept (@BreaPD) June 8, 2018
During the standoff, police said they believed the man had some sort of connection to the people who own the home where he was found.
No further information has been released by law enforcement.
KTLA’s Juan Flores contributed to this story.
