Police and paramedics arrived around 11:30 a.m., and police sealed off the block and set up a command post across the street from the barricaded home. At least 10 SWAT officers, clad in black jumpsuits and black hoods, arrived about two hours later. The SWAT team surrounded the house, occasionally sprinting between buildings. During the standoff, at least 30 to 40 neighbors, some walking with young children, watched from behind a yellow police tape.
At one point, shortly after police arrived, officers tried to retrieve Look's body from the doorstep, believing that he might still be alive. They dragged the body to the neighbor's front lawn, but were forced to retreat when the gunman learned of their location.
Body Lay on Lawn
Authorities said, however, they believe Look had been dead for at least 30 minutes when officers approached the body. For several hours during the standoff, Look's body lay on the front lawn under a dark blue sheet with only his right foot visible.
Police and neighbors said there had been numerous arguments at the house between Burnside and Badgett, some of which required police to respond.
"It doesn't surprise me," said Jim Hopkins, who has lived across the street from the home for about 35 years. "I'm just surprised it took this long."
Hopkins said Burnside lived "on and off" in the house until recently. In the last two weeks, he said Burnside "would drive up close to the house when Barbara was working in the front yard. He would ask if he could talk to her; she wouldn't let him on the property and he would speed away."
Hopkins said Burnside once told Hopkins' wife that he was a policeman and another time said he was a security guard.
'I'm in a Panic'
During the ordeal, Sherry Parker, a single mother of three, said in a telephone interview from her home two doors from the incident, "I'm in a panic; we can't get information about what's going on.
"My 12-year-old was baby-sitting my other children while I was out," she said. "I came home to find cops everywhere and a fireman telling me I could go to my house, but only if I stayed inside."
Neighbor Stephanie Willitt said: "We've seen police cars at that house before. When we moved in here about a year ago, we were told that was the only house in the area where there was ever any trouble."
By 4 p.m., with one hostage still inside, officer Berns reported the situation "stabilized" and said police had no plans to storm the house.
"From a negotiating standpoint, we have time on our side. Storming the house would be a last resort, used only if somebody's life is in danger," he said shortly before the hostage was released.
During the last-minute negotiations, police also considered the possibility of shutting off power to the house, but scuttled the plan when it would have cut power to the whole area.
There were tense moments during the siege, during which the gunman broke off talks with police. At 2:45 p.m., in a message to SWAT officers, a dispatcher was heard to say over the police radio: "The suspect is very agitated right now. He just hung up the phone."
Describing the last minutes of the ordeal, one officer reported over the radio:
"Grandma is on the porch now.
"Suspect is agitated and may come to the front door . . .
"Grandma is out. She's on her way to the CP (Command Post).
"Do we need an ambulance for Grandma?
"No."
After the last hostage was taken from the house about 4:15 p.m., police again contacted the gunman by telephone.
"Suspect is on the phone. He wants to access, but he wants some time to think about it.
"That's OK. . . . We're just going to hold on now.
"He is off the phone and thinking about it.
"OK, we have people out front waiting to talk to him," the radio exchange concluded.
Times staff writers Lily Eng and Jerry Hicks also contributed to this story
Fatal Disagreement A step-by-step look at the shooting and hostage-taking that unfolded at 1337 N. Aetna St. in Anaheim on Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to $:35 p.m., based on police and witness accounts. 1. Tammy McDaniel and Darren Look are awakened at 10:30 a.m. by argument between Darren's mother, Barbara Badgett Look, and her ex-boyfriend, George William Burnside. Darren walks into the hall and confronts Burnside. 2. Burnside allegedly shoots Darren in the chest with a shotgun. 3. Barbara Look grabs gun from Burnside, throws it under a bed, then tries to climb out bathroom window. Burnside allegedly drags her back into the livingroom. 4. Barbara Look, her father and two friends escape. 5.Tammy drags Darren's body to front yard and escapes. 6. The last hostage, identified as Jean Badgett, mother of Barbara, walks out through the front door. Burnside surrenders to police at 4:35 p.m.
