Armed Suspect Arrested after Police Issued Shelter-in-Place Order near a California University

An armed suspect was arrested near a California University on Sunday after police issued a shelter-in-place order following several gunshots.

On Sunday, June 6, 2021, the Azusa Pacific University Campus Security shared on Twitter that the Azusa Police Department had issued a shelter-in-place order following several gunshots in the area.

A few hours later, the order was lifted as the suspect of the shooting was in police custody. Fortunately, no one was injured despite the shooter shooting near and into several homes and into a moving vehicle.

According to Police Captain Robert Landeros, the police were first made aware of a possible shooting at 11 a.m. after they responded to a call claiming there was a man with a gun near Citrus and Alosta avenues.

Police officers were not able to locate the man when they arrived on the scene. However, an hour later, they received another call that a man was firing into the air in the 800 block of East Foothill Boulevard.

During the suspect's shooting episode, he shot at the car of an Azusa Pacific University janitor, who was not struck during the shooting. Police began to search the area with help from the sheriff's department helicopter to find the suspect.

Police officers eventually located him and started chasing him on foot. Unfortunately, the suspect began shooting at officers, and police returned fire. Fortunately, no police officers nor the suspect were struck by a bullet.

Besides this shooting, the department had to deal with a ransomware attack on their department.

The suspect then forced himself into the home of a resident of a mobile home trailer park. The resident was able to escape unharmed. Meanwhile, officers surrounded the home and the suspect eventually gave himself up. He was identified as a resident, Edward Gamino.

The resident whose house was broken into was Glynn Darlene Schmedes. She told ABC 7 that Gamino had entered her home with a gun, and so she knew she had to get out of the situation.

Gamino was arrested and faced charges of attempted murder and other counts. In addition, investigators discovered a gun and that the suspect had been wearing a makeshift gun belt to carry the arms.

The Azusa Police Department has been busy this year. Besides this shooting, the department had to deal with a ransomware attack on their department. They are still figuring out how much information, including payroll, and personal contact information, was taken.

The department also had a very serious bomb threat occur at Azusa Pacific University in February 2021. An email was sent to the school that stated bombs had been placed around campus.

Police made a search of the campus with trained police dogs. Luckily they were able to clear the building and no explosives were found on the scene. The situation was made easier as most students and staff were not on campus because of the COVID-19 pandemic.