Sheriff's deputies use tear gas as they move in to arrest a woman who'd been barricaded in an SUV on Wednesday, March 9, 2022. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.

Deputies used tear gas to end an hours-long standoff that began when a woman was spotted waving a rifle at a Lakewood park before she led authorities on a short pursuit, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Sheriff’s officials said the woman was seen with the weapon around 1 p.m. at Del Valle Park. When authorities arrived, she led them on a vehicle chase that ended about a mile away when she pulled into a driveway in the 4700 block of Pearce Avenue in Long Beach, according to authorities. She then barricaded herself inside the blue SUV she was driving, they said.

Deputies set up a wide perimeter, brought in armored vehicles, and appeared to be trying to negotiate with the woman, with one deputy saying, “We don’t want to hurt you,” as others tried to get a look inside the vehicle with binoculars.

Shortly before 5 p.m., deputies in tactical gear moved in and were able to take the woman into custody.

Sheriff’s deputies take a woman into custody after forcing her out of a vehicle where she’d been barricaded for hours on Wednesday, March 9, 2022. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.

Further details on her identity or why she’d allegedly been armed with a rifle at the park weren’t immediately available.

During the standoff, dozens of neighbors crowded around the yellow police tape that blocked off Pearce Avenue for several hours this afternoon. One resident, who preferred not to be named, said she was inside her home when she heard a car zooming past her window, followed by the sound of “cop car after cop car” giving chase.

A helicopter eventually appeared over the houses, drowning out the sound of police on a loudspeaker attempting to convince the woman to exit the vehicle with her hands up.

Sheriff’s deputies in a standoff with a woman in a vehicle near the Lakewood-Long Beach border. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.

After several hours, neighbors who had been sheltered in place once again exited their homes after hearing the loud bang of a flash grenade, which deputies deployed in an effort to get the woman out of the vehicle.

Following the woman’s arrest, the blue SUV she’d been in sat in the driveway of the Pearce Avenue home with blown-out windows and marks from paintball rounds officers fired during the arrest.

As officers brought down the yellow tape, pedestrians and cars once again flowed through the street. Some neighbors were relieved they could finally go back into their homes, while others remained concerned that their trash had not been picked up as scheduled because of the incident.

Sheriff’s deputies with a blue SUV blocked into a driveway. Photo by Fernando Haro.