A Ventura County man has been arrested on an attempted murder charge following a tense standoff which included a shot being fired which narrowly missed a police officer.
It started at around 8:30 Sunday night, when Oxnard Police were called to a Vineyard Avenue apartment about a possible crime. But, when they arrived on scene a man in the apartment refused to open the door. The officers then learned he might be armed.
Crisis team negotiators and a SWAT team were called. Negotiators learned there were also some people who had locked themselves in a bedroom. They say Michael Balam threatened the people in the apartment, and the officers.
After about three hours, the 42-year-old man fired a shot through the apartment’s front door which narrowly missed a SWAT officer. Police then forced their way into the apartment, and safely rescued four people as well as capturing Balam unharmed.
