Northern California man dies in gunbattle, standoff in burning house (w/video)

AUBURN — Deputies shot and killed a man who holed up inside a burning house in Northern California and fired more than 100 rounds at officers and neighboring houses for several hours, authorities said.

The standoff near Auburn started around 10:30 a.m. when deputies went to check on reports of shots being fired in the man's backyard, Placer County Sheriff's Lt. John Poretti said Sunday.

Poretti said over several hours, the man used a pistol, shot gun and automatic weapon to shoot at officers and into nearby houses. At some point, the garage started to burn but he continued to exchange gunfire with deputies.

"Before the house was fully engulfed in flames, he was firing out of different windows and different locations in the house, almost 360 (degrees)," Poretti told a news conference. "He was all over the place."

Poretti said the man refused to talk to negotiators, and wouldn't surrender after deputies shot tear gas into the house.

The man was near a backdoor when he was shot by a deputy around 4 p.m. His name has not been released, and he was believed to be in his 50s.

Neighbors were evacuated or told to stay inside for hours; no resident or officer was injured during the barrage of gunfire.

"It's amazing that nobody was hurt, just the suspect and that was the choice that he had made by not giving up," Poretti said.

Poretti said a family issue between the man and other relatives set him off.

The fire overtook the house. Investigators were sifting through the ashes to gather the weapons the suspect used in the gunfight.

"At this point, we can't find any weapon because everything collapsed. There are literally ashes, just a smoky mess," Poretti said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Auburn is about 35 miles northeast of Sacramento.