LOS ANGELES – Flames raced through a home in Hermosa Beach during a standoff with an armed domestic violence suspect on Christmas Eve.

The first 911 call was received around 3:30 p.m. from the 600 block of 11th Street near Ardmore Avenue, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

A witness told KTLA 5 News that neighbors heard a loud argument and saw a man with a gun.

At a Sunday evening news conference, Hermosa Beach Police Chief Paul LeBaron said the suspect’s immediate family, including children, fled the two-story home before authorities arrived.

“Officers were able to make contact with some of the family members who were inside the residence. They came out and, at that point, the only person left inside that we were aware of was the suspect,” LeBaron said.

Officers tried repeatedly to make contact with the suspect, but he did not respond, police said.

At about 4:30 p.m., the home’s garage caught fire and flames quickly spread throughout the rest of the building. Firefighters were forced to battle the fire defensively to prevent it from reaching neighboring homes.

At one point, police and witnesses reported hearing explosions, possibly gunshots, but no officers felt they had been targeted, LeBaron said.

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Several neighboring homes were evacuated during the volatile and fluid situation.

“We recognize it’s Christmas Eve and we recognize that many families are being disrupted, but we’re doing everything we can to make it safe for them so they can get back to their houses as quickly as possible,” LeBaron said.

Despite the lack of contact, police were still operating under the assumption that the suspect, whose name was not released, was alive and inside the residence as of 10:00 p.m.

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