> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Sheraton evacuated while police search for gunmen - URL: https://www.smdp.com/sheraton-evacuated-while-police-search-for-gunmen/ - Published: 2002-08-10T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T00:36:43.000Z - Author: Andrew Fixmer - Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Many airline employees staying at Sheraton Hotel* Hundreds of people were evacuated from the Santa Monica Four Points Sheraton hotel while police conducted a seven-hour-long, room-by-room search for two alleged gunmen. They were never found. The Santa Monica Police Department received a 911 call from a housekeeper at 10 a.m., who said she had been approached by two men — one armed with a handgun — and demanded that she let them into a room. However, the woman escaped by locking herself into a fourth floor hotel room where she called police. The suspects then went up one floor and demanded that another housekeeper let them into a room. That housekeeper also escaped by locking herself inside. At least 25 Santa Monica police officers — wearing bullet-proof vests and carrying assault rifles — swarmed into the hotel taking control of the lobby. They searched the hotel floor by floor. When police determined the suspects were no longer in the hotel, the search was called off at 5 p.m. Police speculate the suspects must have fled before officers arrived on the scene. Police describe the first suspect as a male Latino, approximately 28 years old, 5’ 7” tall and weighing 180 pounds. He is described as having a mustache, and was wearing a white T-shirt with a logo, blue jeans, a blue baseball cap and white tennis shoes. The second suspect is described as a black male, approximately 31 years old, 5’ 6” tall, with an average build and a mustache. He was described as wearing a white T-shirt with a logo and a black baseball cap. A West Palm Beach, Fla. woman staying at the Sheraton for her brother’s wedding said she had left Friday morning to eat breakfast with family members, leaving her 17-year-old daughter in their fourth floor hotel room. But when Sue Dubeau returned, police had blocked Pico Boulevard between Fourth and Sixth Streets, trapping her daughter, Jessica, in their room. “I just want to get to my daughter out,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “I can’t stand this.” > “I just want to get to my daughter out. I can’t stand this.” — — SUE DUBEAU Hotel guest Dubeau — like many of those evacuated from the hotel — were able to talk by cell phone with loved ones trapped inside the 160-room hotel. Some trapped in their hotel rooms said they watched the situation unfold on televisions in their hotel rooms and from phone conversations with those standing outside. Some of those evacuated said they had just awakened to eat breakfast when police officers carrying assault rifles stationed outside elevators told them to gather in the lobby. “At first they seemed a bit casual about it all,” said Mike Thie, a British Airways employee staying on the hotel’s sixth floor. “And then all of a sudden they were telling us to stay away from the windows and then they evacuated us.” Many staying in the hotel were employees of British Airways, United and Delta airlines. Police said it was unlikely there is a connection between the attempted armed incursion and the airline employees. Several Delta airline pilots said company officials had instructed them to stay put in Santa Monica while another crew assumed their flight. They said no delays or interruptions in service would result from the incident. “We have local crews available,” said Delta Capt. George Becker. “This should have little to no effect on service.” While the day-long search was being conducted, police and city officials opened up the civic center auditorium so the displaced hotel guests could have a place to rest and have access to restrooms. But many decided to go watch a movie or take a break on the beach while they waited to get back into their hotel rooms. Police encourage anyone with information to call SMPD detectives working on the investigation at (310) 458-8495. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/081002-01_01.jpg) Guests of the Four Points Sheraton Hotel on Pico Boulevard are evacuated Friday morning while Santa Monica Police search for two gunmen. (Photo: Andrew H. Fixmer/Daily Press) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/081002-01_02.jpg) Guests of the Four Points Sheraton Hotel on Pico Boulevard are evacuated Friday morning while Santa Monica Police search for two gunmen. (Photo: Andrew H. Fixmer/Daily Press) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 10, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/081002.pdf?ref=smdp.com)