Hours-Long Standoff in Hollister Ends with Less-Lethal Deployment and Medical Transport
HOLLISTER, CA – A multi-agency response to an individual in a mental health crisis concluded on Saturday after law enforcement personnel utilized less-lethal munitions to disarm a woman wielding a knife.
The incident began on Sept. 26, 2026, when Hollister Police officers responded to reports of a woman carrying a knife and looking into backyards near Julian Court. Officers located the subject making incoherent statements in an open field near Apricot Lane and Summer Drive. Upon observing that she was holding a knife, officers attempted to engage her while maintaining distance. The woman refused to speak with responding officers and walked away toward a populated area and into the San Benito River bed.
After officers briefly disengaged, the woman began using the knife to self-harm and ran south through the riverbed toward Nash Road and Westside Boulevard. Units from the San Benito County Sheriff’s Department and CAL FIRE joined police officers to establish a perimeter around the area, while a police drone provided aerial monitoring. Responders requested assistance from the San Benito County Behavioral Health Mobile Crisis Response Team, whose crisis workers attempted negotiation to encourage the woman to accept medical aid.
Following hours of unsuccessful negotiations, the woman ran toward a residential neighborhood on Nash Road. To prevent her from entering the residential area with a weapon, officers and deputies deployed pepperball projectiles and 12-gauge less-lethal impact munitions. The subject dropped the knife, allowing personnel to safely detain her and administer immediate first aid.
Personnel from the Hollister Fire Department and American Medical Response evaluated the woman at the scene before she was airlifted to a regional hospital for further medical care.
