SAN DIEGO — San Diego Police Department is investigating an officer-involved shooting reported shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday in Chula Vista.
The law enforcement fatal shooting happened in the 1100 block of Broadway near a Walmart parking lot and a shopping center, according to the San Diego Police Department.
According to police, multiple callers reported a woman screaming for help and a man hitting her. A canine officer arrived at the scene and found the suspect standing next to a parked pickup truck in the parking lot holding a knife. When the officer told the suspect to drop the knife, he continued to approach the officer and the officer fired his weapon, hitting the suspect multiple times.
Officers were able to move the knife away from the suspect and began life-saving efforts until paramedics arrived. Unfortunately, the man died at the scene.
The suspect has been identified but his identity is not being released at this time. He is described as a 32-year-old white man and a resident of Chula Vista.
"Anyone that approaches you with a knife, yeah you are going to do something, but he could have tased him or shoot his leg," said a Walmart shopper.
Several Walmart shoppers say crimes happen in the area often.
"We have to constantly be on edge and roll up our windows," said a Walmart shopper. "People that lived here long know that this area is bad and it's only getting worse."
"I'm not shocked at this point. It's getting way out of hand now and something needs to be done to make this a safe environment like it used to be," said another Walmart shopper.
The officer involved in this incident has been employed by Chula Vista Police Department for approximately five years. He is currently assigned as a canine handler. No officers were injured during this incident.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
This is an ongoing investigation and no further information was provided.
Last May, an armed robber pulled a knife out on a security guard at the same Chula Vista Walmart and escaped.
Just a block away, a man was arrested for trying to break open a Wells Fargo bank vault in 2020.
And in one parking lot over at Costco, a man shot himself after injuring this couple in front of their newborn while they were loading groceries in their car in 2019.
In a separate incident, a jewelry sale ended in gunfire and two men were arrested in the same Costco parking lot in 2019.