Landlord armed with crossbow barricades himself inside California home

LOS ANGELES (WPVI) -- A landlord armed with a crossbow and a Molotov cocktail barricaded himself inside a home in Woodland Hills, California Tuesday following a dispute with a tenant.

Los Angeles police were called at about 5 p.m. to the 22500 block of Criswell Street. Residents told officers they had gotten into an argument with their landlord and he pulled out a crossbow. The suspect then made more threats to officers.

"The suspect said that he had a gun, that he would not be taken alive. He said he had a crossbow. They saw a crossbow through a window. The victims told them he had made some Molotov cocktails in the garage over the last 24 hours," LAPD Lt. John Jena said.

Surrounding homes were evacuated and a SWAT team and bomb squad was summoned.

For nearly five hours, negotiators tried to talk the suspect into ending the standoff, even contacting his relatives. Minutes after authorities fired tear gas, the suspect surrendered and was taken into custody.

It was earlier reported that the incident took place in West Hills.

City News Service contributed to this report.