ESCONDIDO, Calif. — Escondido police fatally shot a parolee who allegedly opened fire on them Friday at a mobile home park in a neighborhood south of Daley Ranch.
The events that led to the fatal shootout began shortly after 6:30 a.m. Friday, when Escondido police got a report of a trespasser asleep in a sleeping bag on the porch of a residential trailer in the 2500 block of East Valley Parkway, according to the San Diego Police Department, which investigates police shootings in the North County city under the terms of a countywide anti-conflict-of-interest agreement.
"As officers responded, the call was updated to state that the (man) had ... gotten up and was pushing a blue motorcycle through the mobile home complex," SDPD Lt. Jud Campbell said.
A pair of Escondido police officers arrived at the trailer park about 10 minutes later, spotted the suspect and stopped him for questioning.
"During the contact, based on the information provided by the (man), they learned he had a felony warrant for a parole violation out of Indiana," Campbell said. "As officers began to detain (him), he turned and began to run. He also began reaching into his waistband."
The suspect then allegedly pulled a gun, pointed it across his body at the officers and opened fire, according to police.
The patrol personnel returned fire, wounding the suspect, who fell to the ground, the lieutenant said.
"He then rolled over with the gun, again pointing it in the direction of (the) officers, prompting one of them to fire several more rounds at him," Campbell alleged.
The officers provided first-aid to the mortally wounded suspect prior to the arrival of paramedics. An ambulance crew then took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
No other injuries were reported.
Neighbors at the mobile home park say they can’t believe the scene that unfolded.
“I was about to go to go to work take my kids to school and I did notice there was a squad car blocking my driveway. Everything appeared to be pretty normal, go back to the house to wait it out a little bit, 10 minutes later I hear gun shots outside," said one resident.
The resident, who didn't want to be identified, says incidents like this are rare.
“It was pretty surprising. I’ve been living here for three years and nothing like this has ever happened," said the resident.
The name of the suspect, believed to have been a 48-year-old former Indiana resident, was not immediately available.
One of the involved officers has been employed by the Escondido Police Department for about six years, the other for roughly a year, Campbell said. Their identities were not released.
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