Police traded gunfire with a hostage-taker in a residential neighborhood early Tuesday morning, leaving the suspect dead and one officer wounded.
At approximately 5 a.m., officers responded to reports of a home invasion on the 4000 block of Manchester Court in Orcutt, and arrived at the residence to find that a man was holding the family hostage at gunpoint. Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Chris Pappas said Senior Deputy Bobby Fortier and Deputy Chris Nelson gained entry to the residence, at which point the suspect fired on them, striking Fortier twice in the upper left arm and torso.
Pappas said the officers then returned fire, striking the suspect. None of the residents of the home were injured during the shootout, he said. Pappas said paramedics then transported Fortier and the suspect, identified as Kelly Jerrod Redden, to Marian Medical Center, where Redden died from his wounds.
Pappas said Fortier, a 14-year sheriff’s department veteran, sustained “non-life-threatening” injuries and was released Wednesday morning after being kept overnight for observation. Nelson, who is a 20-year veteran, was not injured in the shootout, Pappas said.