7-Hour Police Standoff Ends

Long Beach police, alerted by a silent burglar alarm, surrounded a downtown pawn shop for nearly seven hours this morning only to discover later that there was no one inside.

A police spokesman said the standoff began at 3:30 a.m. and ended shortly after 10 a.m., when a search by three heavily armed police weapons teams found no suspects inside Walkers Jewelry and Loan or in nearby buildings. Police said that voice-sensing alarms inside the store had picked up sounds earlier, indicating that suspects were inside.