Updated: Sheriff's Deputies Arrest Armed Suspect in Lemon Grove Standoff

Updated at 11 p.m. March 1.

Investigators say the armed man they arrested after a three-hour standoff Thursday is a 29-year-old who was upset about relationship and employment issues.

It was the suspect's mother who made the initial call for help at about 1:35 p.m. After contacting the Sheriff's department, she and an adult daughter left the home on the 7900 block of Mt. Vernon St., leaving the man alone inside.

According to authorities, deputies on the scene were able to talk to the man by phone and determine no crime had been committed. As they prepared to leave, however, a deputy spotted the man outside the house holding a handgun.

Deputies called in a SWAT team for assistance, and the man eventually surrendered peacefully at about 4:15 p.m. He was taken into custody for a mental health evaluation.

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Updated at 5:15 p.m. March 1.

Sheriff's deputies arrested an apparently suicidal man possibly armed with a gun Thursday afternoon following a tense, three-hour standoff in a Lemon Grove neighborhood.

A deputy may have heard a shot fired in the home, said sheriff's Lt. Maria Wood.

The incident began about 1:30 p.m. when deputies responded to a call about a possibly suicidal person. The man was in a home on the 7900 block of Mt. Vernon Street, and authorities say he had apparently been drinking. Observers at the scene said the man had a loaded handgun.

The unidentified man was taken into custody about 4:20 p.m. after law enforcement convinced him to come out of the house and surrender. A SWAT team and armored vehicle were called in to assist, as was the Sheriff's ASTREA helicopter.

Streets were blocked off surrounding the area. Nearby Mount Vernon Elementary School was placed on lockdown as a precaution, with students being released at about 2:30 p.m., Wood said.

The man was alone in the home. No injuries were reported, according to Wood.

Investigators are piecing together the details of the incident, and have not yet released other information.