Salinas school lockdown lifted after police arrest suspect

A Salinas elementary school was briefly placed on lockdown Wednesday morning after a wanted suspect ran on campus while officers were trying to arrest him, according to Salinas police.

University Park Elementary School said it was on lockdown for about 10 minutes, as officers said they worked to arrest Luis Morales Alvarado, 38 just after 9:20 a.m.

Police said Alvarado is accused of holding a female victim at gunpoint at a Salinas motel room on Sunday. Officers said during that incident Alvarado got away, by cutting a hole in the wall of the motel room, crawled into another room and then jumped from the second floor to the parking lot holding a semi-automatic pistol. During their investigation, officers learned Alvarado was a wanted felon.

Officers later searched the motel room and found more than 140 grams of methamphetamine.

Wednesday morning, officers said they responded to a domestic disturbance at an apartment complex in the 700 block of W. Acacia St. involving Alvarado. Before officers could contact him, they said Alvarado jumped from the second-story bathroom to the ground and ran toward the school.

Once office caught up with Alvarado, police said one officer fired three rounds from a less lethal device, hitting Alvarado twice. Another officer used a Taser and Alvarado was successfully arrested.

Alvarado was booked into the Monterey County Jail.