FOUNTAIN — The El Paso County Sheriff's Office has issued a shelter-in-place for residents in the area of Autumn Pl. and Fountain Mesa Road, near Metcalfe Park.
Residents were asked to secure their homes and stay away from doors and windows because of law enforcement activity in the area. All individuals were asked to avoid the area during the situation.
The Fountain Police Department is on the scene, and they said that there was a situation involving an individual with a firearm in the neighborhood called in around 2:00 pm.
Police called the Fountain SWAT Team and believe the individual is inside his home at 639 Autumn Place.
At approximately 5:15 p.m. according to our crew at the scene, police fired tear gas at the front house, and at 5:30 p.m., SWAT entered the house.
Around 6:30 p.m., a series of what sounded like flash grenades went off on the scene. There is still no word as to whether or not a suspect has been apprehended in the house.
Around 8:00 p.m. officers were seen leaving the home without the person of interest. The area of Fountain Mesa and Autumn Place had its shelter-in-place lifted at 8:15 p.m.
According to the Fountain Police Commander, the suspect, apparently was high on meth, broke into his mother's camper that was parked in the driveway. When confronted by a man living in the camper at the time, the suspect pistol-whipped them before running into his mother's house. The individual escaped just before Fountain officers arrived and were never in the house during the time of the standoff.
The suspect is identified as 43-year-old Andrew Bicknell and is described as a white male, at 5'4", with a thin build. He is wanted by the Fountain Police Department for felony menacing.
If you have seen Bicknell, contact the Fountain Police Department at 719-382-8555, or you can leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 719-634-STOP (7867).
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