Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies shot and killed a man Sunday night after he allegedly advanced on them armed with a knife in the North La Cumbre Road area near Santa Barbara.

The shooting occurred shortly before 9 p.m. on the 600 block of Russell Way, a two-block street west of North La Cumbre Road between Calle Cita and Harrold Avenue, according to sheriff’s spokeswoman Kelly Hoover.

Authorities identified the man as Bryan Carreno, 26, of Santa Barbara, on Monday morning. 

Deputies had been searching for a suspect in the neighborhood, which is just outside Santa Barbara city limits, beginning at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

A county helicopter and a K-9 unit were called in to assist with the search for the man, Hoover said.

Deputies initially were dispatched on a report of “an out-of-control subject, who was possibly under the influence of a controlled substance,” Hoover said.

A family member told dispatchers that Carreno ​“was inside the garage and was hallucinating, acting out and possibly under the influence of drugs,” Hoover said, adding that he then left the residence.

A resident in the area told Noozhawk that neighbors reported a man acting strangely or drunk and running through backyards.

The 9-1-1 system was used to send out “shelter in place” warnings to residents in the area, Hoover said.

For more than two hours, deputies searched for Carreno, “who was reportedly jumping fences and going in houses and at one point was on the roof of a home,” Hoover said.

A large kitchen knife was located on the ground outside one of the locations, Hoover said, and authorities obtained information that he was possibly armed with hatchet.  

At about 8:50 p.m., deputies were alerted that Carreno was inside a home, Hoover said.

“Sheriff’s deputies entered the residence in an effort to determine if the suspect was still inside,” Hoover said. “They observed the suspect inside armed with a large kitchen knife and stepped back outside.

“In spite of repeated commands to drop the knife, the suspect exited the house and advanced on the deputies with a knife in his hand.”

At that point, Hoover said, deputies shot Carreno multiple times and he died at the scene.

Five deputies involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard practice in officer-involved shootings, Hoover said.

The Coroner’s Office is conducting an investigation to determine the official cause and manner of death, which was pending toxicology and lab results, Hoover said. 

No one else was injured during the incident, she said. 

Carreno was known to law enforcement, Hoover said, and had been arrested on charges of domestic violence, assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, and alcohol-related violations.

He was arrested on battery charges in November for an alleged attack that occurred on a citizen following a traffic accident in Goleta. He was a passenger in a vehicle that was involved in a crash at Hollister Avenue and Pacific Oaks Road.

Carreno was also among the defendants named in the city of Santa Barbara’s 2011 attempt to impose a gang injunction.

A woman who lives on Harrold Avenue, which intersects with Russell Way, told Noozhawk she and her husband were home with their three children at about 6:40 p.m. when they noticed a man in their backyard.

“We were in our bathroom, toward the back of the house,” said Ariel, who asked that her last name not be used. “My husband was shaving and looked over and said, ‘There’s a man back here.”

She said the suspect “was kind of frantic, shocked. It wasn’t like he was drunk — more like he was running from something.

Her husband talked to the man, who wanted to come into the house and call police, she said.

They refused him entry, and he jumped over a fence and headed toward a neighbor’s house, Ariel said.

The neighbor attempted to assist the man, Ariel said, and apparently called law enforcement. However, the suspect “took off down the street” before they arrived.

Ariel said she never received a 9-1-1 warning, as she and her husband only have cell phones.

She said she and her husband eventually heard several gunshots — she wasn’t sure how many.

Overall, she said, “It was more exciting than I think we we’re hoping for on a Sunday night.”

The Sheriff’s Department is requesting anyone with information regarding this incident who witnessed the suspect in the area or who believes he may have entered their yard or residence to call the sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division at 805.681.4150.

— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.​