Aromas School was placed on lockdown Thursday afternoon when a standoff ensued involving a 50-year-old woman who barricaded herself inside her Bardue Street home and threatened to use firearms against authorities, according to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities arrested the woman, Jacqueline Burse-Woodard, after an 18-hour standoff. They recovered three rifles and a small-caliber handgun, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office.
Deputies responded at about 12:30 p.m. to the Aromas home for a reported domestic dispute. They were told weapons were involved, while a male victim found outside the house was removed from the scene as the suspect, Burse-Woodard, barricaded herself in the home.
Deputies established a perimeter, evacuated people from nearby homes and had the school placed on lockdown. Aromas school is just three blocks from the scene of the standoff, and students were eventually sent home with parents.
Authorities were concerned about the use of weapons because the suspect continued to “express her desire to use them if anyone attempted to come inside the residence,” according to the statement from the sheriff’s office.
Conversations continued with Burse-Woodard until 7 a.m. Friday morning, when she voluntarily gave up.
The sheriff’s office had commissioned help from the Monterey County Swat Team, a hostage negotiation team, the California Highway Patrol, American Medical Response, Calfire and the Salinas police SWAT and hostage negotiation teams.
Salinas police took her into custody and had her booked into the Monterey County Jail on recommended charges of assault with a deadly weapon and terrorist threats. Her bail was set at $65,000.
The sheriff’s office in its statement thanked all of the agencies involved, along with Aromas School, which opened its gym to residents evacuated during the standoff, and American Red Cross for providing food, cots and blankets.
