Following an hours-long police response, emergency personnel sedated and secured the mountain lion that was seen hiding under a car near homes in Escondido on Monday afternoon.
Around 1:30 p.m., the Escondido Police Department responded to a report of a mountain lion close to homes and businesses at the 700 block of N. Grape St. During that time, police urged the public to avoid the area.
The mountain lion dove under a car and hid there for some time, police said. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife and police responded to the incident both on the ground and with drone flight operations, Escondido police said.
Two people were seen looking under a car in Escondido after a mountain lion was spotted hiding under a car near homes on May 4, 2026. (SkyRanger 7)
SkyRanger 7 was over the scene, where law enforcement could be seen lying on the ground with their guns drawn near homes and parked vehicles. Nearby schools were put on alert but no schools were put on lockdown due to the incident, police said.
By about 7 p.m., emergency personnel were able to sedate the mountain lion and allow Fish and Wildlife to take it into custody, according to Escondido police.
It was not immediately clear what would happen to the mountain lion next.
The operation seemed to have drawn quite the crowd out to the neighborhood. One woman was even seen enjoying a bag of popcorn outside the scene.
Berenice Morales, 11, was among the crowd watching the scene outside the caution tape in the neighborhood.
“I really like the chisme [gossip], so I just came out here for it,” she said.
When asked if she was nervous about the mountain lion being in her neighborhood, she said she was not.
“It’s so interesting to see a mountain lion in my neighborhood because it’s usually in the mountains,” she said.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information arrives.
