ESCONDIDO -- A man was taken into custody Sunday on suspicion of murder and attempted murder after he allegedly shot and killed one person at a north Escondido home before holing up inside the house in a tense, three-hour standoff with a police SWAT team, authorities said.

Police responded at about 8:35 a.m. to initial reports that two people had been killed on the 2100 block of Park Tree Lane, near Rincon Avenue, Escondido police Lt. David said. At the time police were contacted, the caller said he was struggling with the suspect, who police later identified as Las Vegas resident Octavian Crishan, 68.

Shortly after police arrived at the home, a man in his mid-40s came out of the house with a gunshot wound to the face, said Lt. David Mankin, adding that the man was expected to survive. The victim was taken in for surgery at Palomar Medical Center, fire Capt. Corey Cheney said.

Police also evacuated about a dozen homes in the area for six to seven hours, Mankin said.

Crishan stayed inside the home until about 11:45 a.m., when he walked out, rambling and asking to be shot, Mankin said.

Police subdued Crishan with shots from a beanbag gun, injuring his hand, Mankin said. He was taken to Palomar Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries, Cheney said.

Police later found the body of a man in his late 60s, described as a longtime friend of Crishan, in the home with gunshot wounds from a small-caliber handgun. The cause of death and victim's name were not available Sunday night. The motive for the shooting was not immediately known.

The house where the shooting took place, a two-story, orange-colored stucco home with red tile roof, is owned by Herman Wiesemeyer, according to property records.

Jeff Novis, who lives next door to the home, said he had met Wiesemeyer, his wife and a male tenant who worked as a nurse at a North County hospital.

Novis said he had called Escondido police to report sounds of fighting at the house as recently as a few months ago.

"We'd hear cussing and screaming," Novis said. "Then the next day they're friends again."

Though Wiesemeyer lived at the Park Tree Lane home, it was unclear how much time he spent there. Wiesemeyer frequently had limousines and taxicabs bring him from Escondido to casinos in Las Vegas and San Diego County, Novis said.

According to the Musicians Union of Las Vegas, Crishan was a longtime member whose membership was terminated in July 2006.

Walt Boenig, a Las Vegas-area musician and band leader, said he had performed with Crishan, who was a violinist. Boenig said he had not had contact with Crishan in many years.

According to several other musicians who had befriended the suspect, Crishan was a talented violinist whose high-profile gigs on the Las Vegas Strip, including performing as the concert master at the Aladdin Casino, had attracted the attention of Sammy Davis Jr., who hired Crishan as a concert master at some of his shows.

Two musician acquaintances of Crishan, who both asked that their names not be used, said he had fallen into poor health in the last several years, adding that he stopped playing the violin about 10 years ago because of an injury from a car crash. Crishan was born in Romania and had moved to the United States some 40 years ago to continue his career as a violinist, they said.

Contact staff writer Quinn Eastman at (760) 740-5412 or qeastman@nctimes.com and Sarah Wilkins at (760) 761-4414 or swilkins@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.