Loaded Gun Seized from Suicidal UCSB Student

Santa Barbara Sheriff’s deputies prevented a potential suicide Wednesday afternoon when they responded to the Isla Vista apartment of a UCSB student who said he wanted to kill himself. Deputies made contact with the 20-year-old and seized a loaded .357 revolver hidden under a pillow in his bedroom.

According to Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Kelly Hoover, deputies responded to the home in the 700 block of Camino Del Sur at around 3:15 p.m. A records check for firearms yielded negative results, she said. (The gun was later found to be legally registered to a family member.) When the suicidal man saw the deputies at his front door, he tried to retreat to his room, but was quickly detained, Hoover said.

As the gun was recovered, the deputies also saw multiple sets of brass knuckles in the residence. The man was arrested for possession of the brass knuckles and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail with bail set at $20,000. No other details on the incident have been released.

“The Isla Vista Foot Patrol commends the reporting party in this case for calling 9-1-1 to report the subject’s erratic behavior which ultimately could have saved his life,” Hoover said.