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Richmond Police Officer in Custody Following Gunshots, Standoff at S.F. Hotel

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX/BCN/AP) -- A Richmond police officer has been placed on administrative leave after being taken into custody at the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco for an incident involving gunfire and a subsequent standoff with S.F. police, KPIX has learned.

Multiple sources tell KPIX 5 off-duty Richmond police officer Phillip Sanchez is the person who fired multiple rounds inside the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco early Sunday morning.

Richmond police would not comment on or confirm that.

Richmond mayor Tom Butt released this statement to KPIX:

"At this point we know that one of our off-duty officers was involved in a shooting incident in San Francisco early this morning. As far as we know, there were no injuries to him or any other party. The officer is being placed on administrative leave pending investigation. San Francisco Police Department is handling the investigation. As this is a San Francisco PD investigation, we will not be issuing a statement to the media other than confirming that our off-duty officer was in fact involved."

Officers got reports of possible gunfire at 4:55 a.m. Sunday, and witnesses told them a man shot a gun inside the hotel in the 700 block of Market St., according to Officer Robert Rueca.

The suspect, described as 45 years old by Rueca, refused to come out of the hotel. Police set up a perimeter and communicated with the suspect by telephone and he peacefully surrendered around 6:30 a.m., Rueca said.

"We've recovered a firearm from the incident and there was a shelter in place during the incident," said Rueca.

There were no reports of injuries, according to Rueca.

The suspect is in custody and is being medically evaluated but has not been arrested.

"It's still under investigation," Rueca said.

Sanchez has been on the Richmond force for at least eight years. He was once described by the "Richmond Confidential" website as "a cool-headed cop."

Despite the shelter in place order, the guests KPIX 5 spoke to said they were never told anything about what happened.

"I didn't hear anything. Nobody came and they didn't say anything," said Four Seasons guest Dilara Yakin.

"I'm a very loyal Four Seasons guest, I'm just a little bit surprised that nobody notified the guests at the hotel that there was a situation like that," said guest Garrett Calacci.

Hours after the shooting and arrest, guests told KPIX 5 police were still scouring the hallways. Gunnar Burklund was staying on the opposite end of the 6th floor, the same floor police were examining.

"They're long halls. It was a different hallway, but still weird, kinda scary," said Burklund.

On the eighth floor, detectives went from room to room, asking people if they heard gunshots.

One couple said police were looking for a woman.

"There's detectives and they're going in and out of stairwells and the floors and they're asking people that are staying there questions," said Four Seasons guest Steven Fay.

"Definitely not what I expected opening the door. I thought it was housekeeping at first and he had his badge and I was shocked," said guest Christina Fay.

Representatives with the Four Seasons said the man was a guest at the hotel and that all other guests and employees are safe and accounted for.

TM and © Copyright 2017 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bay City News Service and the Associated Press contributed to this report

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