November 6, 2022 6:30 a.m.

A police pursuit turned into a several-hour standoff hostage incident, on Saturday night.

Lieutenant Brad O’Dell of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said shortly after 9:00 p.m. deputies attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle in the 2500 block of Strickland Canyon Road. O’Dell said the driver attempted to flee from law enforcement. The driver went out Lookingglass Road before turning the vehicle onto Happy Valley Road. Spike strips were successfully deployed before the driver turned onto Rolling Hills Road.

The passenger, identified as 48-year old Carlos Bernal, fled from the vehicle on foot and then fired at law enforcement officers. The officers, returned fire.

O’Dell said Bernal entered an unsecured residence in the 100 block of Bunting Court. Bernal held two people as hostages while law enforcement attempted to negotiate and defuse the situation. One of the hostages, a minor, was later able to escape on their own.

Shortly before 2:30 a.m., Bernal was taken into custody. The second hostage, an adult female, was located alive and was determined to have been suffering from a gunshot wound. She was transported by ambulance to CHI Mercy Medical Center.

Bernal was also transported to Mercy, for treatment of a gunshot wound to his leg.

As of Sunday morning, the Douglas County Major Crimes Team has been activated and is processing the scene. No further details will be released at this time.