Two police officers in tactical gear, identified as members of a SWAT team, assess the area during an operation. One officer gestures forward while the other holds a rifle, both positioned near a chain-link fence and a small structure, partially obscured by a tree branch in the foreground.
Vallejo SWAT team members Ofc. Seamus Lanham and Cpl. Anthony Abeyta take up a position at the rear of the residence in which Garry Harrison allegedly barricaded himself on Dec. 3, 2024. (Geoffrey King / Open Vallejo)

A Vallejo man surrendered to police early Wednesday following a 16-hour standoff with officers who bombarded his residence with flashbangs, tear gas, and less-lethal ammunition late into the night. 

Vallejo police responded around 10:45 a.m. Tuesday to a report of gunfire on the 200 block of Viewmont Avenue, where a woman reported that her son grabbed a gun in their house, according to a Vallejo Police Department press release. The woman told police that she heard a gunshot from within the home as she and her adult daughter fled the house for their safety.

Two SWAT officers walk side by side during an operation. Both are dressed in tactical gear, carrying rifles and wearing helmets equipped with communication devices. One officer holds a Gatorade bottle, and sunlight filters through trees in the background, partially illuminating their path. A residential fence and brick wall are visible in the background.
Vallejo officers Vishvdeep Giri and Rosendo Mesa move toward the rear of the house. (Geoffrey King / Open Vallejo)

Vallejo patrol officers were the first to arrive, followed by Vallejo SWAT, hostage negotiators, and a drone team, spokesperson Sgt. Rashad Hollis said in an interview Thursday. A Solano County judge soon issued a warrant for 53-year-old resident Garry Harrison, who had allegedly barricaded himself inside the home, alone and holding a shotgun.

It was an unusual scene for the otherwise quiet Vallejo neighborhood. Police data shows no reported incidents in the last 30 days within Tuesday’s police perimeter. 

At approximately 2 p.m., nearby residents received an emergency message warning them to shelter in place. Vallejo police established a command center on Claremont Avenue, half a block north of Harrison’s house, and taped off large swaths of the neighborhood. Residents who tried to return home on Viewmont Avenue were turned away.

A SWAT officer lies prone on the roof of a house, aiming a rifle while dressed in tactical gear. The setting is a residential neighborhood with rooftops, power lines, and vegetation visible in the background. A residential satellite dish and a wooden structure are partially in the foreground, framing the scene. The late afternoon sunlight casts long shadows, highlighting the officer's focused position.
Ofc. Rosendo Mesa provides overwatch for other Vallejo SWAT team members. (Geoffrey King / Open Vallejo)

Vallejo police deployed a sharpshooter on the roof of a building behind Harrison’s home and placed other SWAT officers in neighboring backyards and across the street from the house. At approximately 2:47 p.m., police blared a siren, announced they had a warrant, and told Harrison to come out.

“Gary, we know you are inside. We do not want to hurt you. Please exit the house with your hands open, up, and empty,” police announced.

“We know you can hear us.”

Nearly 20 minutes after the first announcement, residents got a preview of what they could expect to hear for the rest of the night. A loud blast rang out from the side of the house as police deployed a flashbang grenade. Ten minutes later, police threw another. 

A SWAT officer in tactical gear walks across a grassy area at night, carrying a rifle. The scene is dimly lit with a mix of artificial light sources, creating a sense of urgency. An open vehicle door is visible in the background, along with blurred elements of a residential setting, including a tree and faint outlines of a house.
A Vallejo police officer moves briskly past the house in which Garry Harrison allegedly barricaded himself with a shotgun. (Geoffrey King / Open Vallejo)

The operation remained restrained even as police began to deploy less-lethal munitions. Officers contacted Harrison over the phone and, at one point, indicated that they may have struck an agreement with him.

“Like we agreed to on the phone, you will be given directions when you step out of the house. We just spoke with you,” police said.

But communication between Harrison and police soon slowed, with officers repeatedly asking Harrison to answer their calls. Around 5:30 p.m., police upped the intensity of the siege, deploying more frequent rounds of less-lethal munitions and using a loudspeaker to declare that they believed Harrison was armed.

For hours following that announcement, police repeatedly fired less-lethal ammunition into the windows along the back and sides of the house.

Officers deployed multiple rounds of tear gas, which billowed out of the 1930s-era home and wafted across a nearby park toward nearly a dozen neighbors watching the standoff. Throughout the night several neighbors stopped by Fairmont Park, some with beers and snacks, to watch the operation unfold.

Three SWAT officers, wearing tactical gear, approach a house at night. The house is partially obscured by trees, and a faint cloud of gas or smoke is visible near the structure. The scene is illuminated by artificial lighting, casting dramatic shadows on the house and surrounding foliage. A metal fence and neighboring homes are visible in the background.
As the siege wore on, Vallejo police fired less-lethal munitions into the home with increasing frequency. (Geoffrey King / Open Vallejo)

Police also flew drones through the shattered windows in an effort to locate Harrison. At around 7:40 p.m., officers broke open the front door before immediately retreating. Police then positioned patrol cars to face the house, using the headlights to shine more light down a hall made visible by the breach.

Silhouetted SWAT officers move cautiously across a yard in front of a house at night, partially obscured by a dense cloud of gas. The scene is illuminated by ambient streetlights and faint reflections from nearby emergency vehicles, casting long shadows on the house and surrounding trees. The home's front porch and staircase are faintly visible, framed by foliage and a chain-link fence.
Officers cross through a cloud of tear gas wafting from the house. (Geoffrey King / Open Vallejo)

As the night wore on, an officer on the loudspeaker continued to announce the police presence and ask Harrison to exit through the front door, his voice growing weary over time. The Vacaville Police Department loaned its drone and SWAT teams to support the operation, according to Vallejo police. The Fairfield Police Department sent its drone team.

Silhouetted police officers stand near a vehicle in a residential driveway at night, one officer partially visible in tactical gear, holding a firearm. A white SUV and a specialized armored police vehicle are parked nearby, illuminated by ambient light from the house and surrounding area. A bare tree and fallen leaves frame the scene, adding depth.
Vallejo Police Cpl. Anthony Abeyta confers with colleagues after officers deployed another round of gas into the home. (Geoffrey King / Open Vallejo)

Harrison surrendered peacefully around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday following additional rounds of tear gas, according to Vallejo police. 

On Friday, prosecutors charged Harrison with two counts of assault with a firearm, along with several enhancements. As he entered a Fairfield courtroom to be arraigned later that afternoon, he appeared confused and listless, requiring deputies to redirect him after he took a wrong turn down a hallway.

At the hearing, Solano County Deputy District Attorney Douglass Pharr said Harrison had no known mental health history but that he had been “acting strange” on the day of the standoff, according to his family. Harrison pleaded not guilty through his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Rachel Schroder. After a brief exchange, Judge Bryan Kim ordered Harrison to stay away from his mother and sister and set bail at $65,000. He remains in custody as of Saturday afternoon.

Workers place plywood over the shattered windows of the 1939 home, hours after the standoff ended. They occasionally coughed and sniffled from tear gas residue that reached the sidewalk in front of the home. Less lethal canisters littered the ground nearby. (Geoffrey King / Open Vallejo)

The family home where the standoff occurred remains uninhabitable, Pharr alleged at the Friday hearing. As workers arrived to board up the house a few hours after Harrison’s surrender, a relative who identified herself only as Renee commended Vallejo police on their restraint.

“Vallejo police handled it well. SWAT handled it very well,” she told Open Vallejo. 

Geoffrey King contributed to this report.

Matthew Brown is an investigative reporter at Open Vallejo.