A gunman at an Oxnard apartment complex allegedly fired rounds that hit an occupied dwelling across the street and at least one police vehicle before he was arrested Thursday, authorities said.

Police said suspect Samuel Sapiens, 21, of Oxnard, was taken into custody after a tense hour and a half that closed busy Victoria Avenue south of Wooley Road, forced neighbors to stay inside and required businesses to lock doors. No injuries were reported.

Callers reported hearing gunshots around 9:25 a.m. in the 1400 block of South Victoria at Leeward Way.

The gunfire apparently came from a second-story unit of the Sunset Cove apartment complex at the northeast corner of the intersection, authorities said. The building is across the street from the SeaBridge development, within sight of popular Yolanda’s Mexican Cafe and other businesses.

A subsequent investigation found gunfire had struck the front window of an Oxnard police vehicle parked at the scene, as well as an apartment building across the street on Leeward Avenue. Multiple shots penetrated the walls of an apartment with an 18-year-old woman inside, although she was not injured, according to police.

The incident rattled nerves as a knot of police cars with lights flashing arrived outside Sunset Cove. Officers cut off a wide area around the scene that kept even pedestrians off Victoria, giving the six-lane thoroughfare the appearance of a ghost town.

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The scenario unfolded the morning after Sacramento Police Department Officer Tara O’Sullivan, 26, was fatally shot while responding to a standoff involving a domestic violence suspect.

Oxnard Assistant Police Chief Eric Sonstegard said the Sacramento officer’s death was the topic of “a lot of conversation” at the local station Thursday morning. That dialogue was underway as the first gunshots were reported.

“When the call came out on the radio, it was one of the first things I thought of,” Sonstegard said.

More than 30 Oxnard police officers responded, Sonstegard said, with the Ventura Police Department and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office assisting. Oxnard Fire Department units were also on the scene.

Overhead, two helicopters buzzed as police donned body armor and readied rifles to converge on the corner. At least one armored vehicle was at the site.

Sapiens was apparently shooting out of a broken window overlooking Leeward, and it appears he lived in the apartment, Sonstegard said. The window was visible from some businesses in the SeaBridge center.

Before making contact with the suspect, law enforcement officers had been told by people who knew him that the man had access to multiple weapons, including high-powered rifles such as AK-47s. Police used amplified commands to order the man from the apartment. He ultimately came outside and surrendered to police.

After his arrest, a search of the residence found numerous firearms registered to Sapiens’ brother, police said. Authorities did not specify the types of firearms found inside the residence.

Sapiens was arrested on suspicion of assault on a police officer with a firearm and shooting at an inhabited dwelling, according to authorities. He had been booked into Ventura County jail by Thursday afternoon.

‘It’s right by us. It’s terrifying.’

Vanessa Delgado, who lives nearby on Miramar Way, was in her kitchen when she heard a series of shots around 9:20 a.m. She quickly ruled out fireworks. Delgado thought perhaps it could be someone doing yardwork but concluded it was much worse.

“I heard a rapid succession of fire, between 10 and 15 shots,” she said.

Delgado grabbed her dog from outdoors and locked up the dwelling, where she was home with her three children, and called 911.

“It sounded really close by,” she said.

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Delgado began listening to a police radio scanner and confirmed the noises she heard were indeed gunfire.

“It’s not even a quarter-mile away,” she said. “It’s right by us. It’s terrifying.”

She said she heard another round of about five shots.

Delgado later received an emergency text message from the Oxnard Police Department telling her to shelter in place.

‘I’m trying to get home.’

As the situation was unfolding, a woman who answered the phone at the nearby 24-Hour Fitness said the building was locked, but members were still being allowed in and out of the gym. The gym’s parking lot was closed, she said.

Gym-goers who had parked near the Vons grocery store at the SeaBridge Marketplace weren’t able to walk to their workouts on Victoria, but they could access the fitness center via harborside walkways behind the shopping center.

The situation closed Victoria Avenue between Wooley Road and Hemlock Street until about 12:15 p.m.

Cassandra Acuña, 29, was one of many whose plans were temporarily derailed Thursday morning. She had just returned from dropping off a friend at Los Angeles International Airport when she encountered confusion in the parking lot outside the SeaBridge Vons, where Oxnard police had set up a small command center sequestered by red tape. Shoppers and residents wondered what was going on and whether they’d be able to access homes and businesses.

“I’m trying to get home,” Acuña said.

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A few blocks south, the big front windows of Cabelos Salon at Victoria and Leeward provided a clear view of events.

Salon owner Gracie Chavez said she’d been making a pot of coffee when those at the salon first heard four to five shots. Some wondered whether they’d heard fireworks or a car backfiring.

“Then more shots rang,” she said, and a janitor told them the gunfire had come from an apartment across the street.

Salon worker Linda Duncan-Jimenez had just pulled into the parking lot and opened her car door when she heard gunshots.

“I ran to get inside,” she said.

As the incident was winding down, police — including officers still clad in body armor — rushed with lights and sirens to another situation just blocks away involving a man in an apartment with guns. That incident concerned a depressed person with several guns at Victoria Avenue and Via Pacifica Walk, and people already waylaid in the Vons parking lot watched the new scene unfold. Officers resolved the situation quickly with no injuries reported.

Meanwhile, a training drill at Camp Pendleton on Thursday morning inadvertently activated a lockdown at Naval Base Ventura County, but that was false and was ultimately lifted, according to Theresa Cunningham Miller, a spokeswoman for the base. Oxnard’s incident was unrelated, she said.

However, the base did close its Victoria Gate for a time as a result of the Oxnard incident.

Police continue to investigate the incident that led to Sapiens’ arrest. Witnesses are urged to contact Detective Michael Velasquez at 805-385-8287.

Contributing: The Star’s Mike Harris, Stacie Galang, Jeremy Childs and Juan Carlo

Gretchen Wenner covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at gretchen.wenner@vcstar.com or 805-437-0270.