Police identify man found dead after Sunset Heights standoff

Police identified the man found dead after a SWAT situation Wednesday in Sunset Heights.

Officers found the body of 34-year-old Lane William Wiscombe after a man barricaded himself before surrendering after a two-hour standoff.

Bilal Muhammad, 34, of the 200 block of Porfirio Diaz, is charged with murder.

Police responded to a call of shots being fired. When officers arrived, they saw witnesses exiting the residence who reported the gunshots.

Officers called to the occupants of the home to come out, but Muhammad refused to come out of the residence.

At that time, officers called the police SWAT team and Crisis Management Team to assist with a barricaded subject.

After a short standoff, Muhammad surrendered to police without incident.

During the clearing of the home, officers discovered the body of Wiscombe.

Crimes Against Persons detectives conducted a homicide investigation and have charged Muhammad Murder.

He was booked in the El Paso County Detention facility under a $750,000 bond.

Neighbors Dominic Gunter and his father heard gunshots about 11 a.m.

“The guy who lives downstairs says there was cops outside,” Gunter said. “They came out with guns drawn.”

Gunter heard five shots go off before the officers arrived, one after, and another three after that.

“We’re met by witnesses advising us of shots being fired in the area,” El Paso Police spokesman Sgt. Robert Gomez said. “They identified a house. They tried to make contact with the person inside it. The person refused to come out and SWAT officers were called to the scene.”

The entire 200 block of Porfirio Diaz was completely blocked off by police tape, including the backs of the homes, meaning residents couldn’t leave their homes for seven hours. Neighbors used those hours to capture up close footage to which the KVIA cameras didn’t have access, including a look at weapons from inside the home.

“(The weapons) are outside on the porch,” Gunter said. “He walked outside out of the door, holding the M-16 and the semi-automatic handgun, set them down, and then sat down the porch.”

In exclusive video given to ABC-7 by another neighbor, the suspect is seen coming out and talking on the phone before calmly sitting down.

“The officers told us he was high, off his mind, didn’t even know what was going on,” Gunter said.

“We have one suspect in custody right now,” Gomez said.

After the man was taken away in handcuffs, police cleared the house, finding not only a Wiscombe dead, but two other men who for now they’re calling witnesses.

“That could change during the course of the investigation,” Gomez said.

“This is a pretty safe neighborhood,” Gunter said. “This is the first time anything like this has happened. I don’t know if it was them or the drugs doing it.”