EL CAJON (CNS) - An eight-hour SWAT standoff in El Cajon, which involved a father holding his 7-year-old son hostage, ended early Saturday morning with the apparent suicide of the suspect following the safe release of the boy, according to police.



The incident began shortly after 5 p.m. Friday in the 800 block of Grape Street in the Bostonia neighborhood, when the 25-year-old man fired several gunshots during a family disturbance, according to El Cajon police.



No one was hit by gunfire and several family members were able to flee the home, but the man remained inside with his son and several guns, Lt. Rob Ransweiler said.



Crisis negotiators and a SWAT team were called in, but they were unable to communicate with the man, prompting police at one point to ask the suspect, if he was watching television coverage of the standoff, to call police or communicate with them through social media so the matter could be resolved without further incident.



Nearby homes were evacuated and several streets in the area were closed during the standoff.



The boy left the home through the garage at about 1:15 a.m. Saturday. Then officers heard a single gunshot from inside the home and found the shooter's body. No one else was injured, according to police.