A SWAT standoff at a bar and motorcycle club in San Diego’s Mt. Hope area ended just after noon when officials determined there was no one inside the business.
At around 2:40 a.m., the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) was called to the Chosen Few Motorcycle Club at 4280 Market St., near 43rd Street, to investigate reports of shots fired in the bar.
SDPD Lt. Kevin Mayer said that as officers were coming into the area, they detained a man who had crashed his motorcycle near Interstate 805 and Market Street.
That man -- 24-year-old William Kinnison -- was linked by police to the shooting at the motorcycle club and arrested as one of the suspects.
As police arrived at the bar, many patrons were fleeing from the building. Officers said there was one man in the doorway refusing to come out who was not complying with orders. He went back inside the club, police said.
“We believe that there’s still a person inside, who is the suspect,” said Lt. Mayer.
Police requested SWAT officials and a nearly 10-hour-long standoff ensued.
Throughout the morning SWAT deployed severeal robots and flash bangs into the bar to check for a possible suspect inside, but officias were not been able to make contact with anyone.
At around 12:15 p.m., officials swept the club and determined there was no suspect inside.
Police said the suspect may have fled through the back door amid the chaotic scene right after the shooting, as there were many people surrounding the building.
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Meanwhile, police said at least four men had been shot prior to the standoff at the club and had been transported to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries.
Investigators have not yet determined who fired the shots or why. They’re looking into the possibility of whether or not the shooting may have been gang related.
Roads in the area were closed off to traffic for many hours during the situation.
San Diego DJ Carlos Torres told NBC 7 there was a DJ competition happening at the motorcycle club when shots rang out. He said a melee erupted, with about 150 people rushing the door.
Torres said some patrons ran to hide in the kitchen area. He ran out of the building quickly with his wife to find cover.
The DJ said the atmosphere inside the bar was positive and everyone seemed to be having a good time before gunfire erupted. Torres remained at the scene because he said his DJ equipment is still inside the bar and he hoped to be able to recover it.
A description of the shooting suspect or suspects has not yet been released by police.
Lt. Mayer said officers were interviewing 15 to 20 witnesses and hoping to piece together what happened at the club in the moments leading up to the shooting.
SDPD Capt. Jose Duran said officers have been called to the motorcycle club in the past for other disturbances. It is unknown if the men who were shot knew one another.
