SAN DIEGO — A man was killed Sunday afternoon during an officer-involved shooting in La Mesa. The shooting happened in the parking lot of the Cypress Plaza Condominiums in the 8000 block of University Avenue, after an officer recognized the suspect, a wanted felon, and confronted him.
The suspect was tentatively identified as a 41-year-old, who the officers saw standing outside of the passenger side of a vehicle parked in the lot. When officers contacted the suspect, he took out a handgun and pointed it directly at an officer who was standing in front of the vehicle. It appears the suspect tried to fire at the officer multiple times but the firearm malfunctioned. one officer then fired multiple times at the suspect as he ran through the parking lot. As the suspect rain toward University Ave, police say it looked as though the suspect was trying to get the firearm operational again. An officer then shot the suspect multiple times in the upper body, causing him to drop the gun.
"During the shooting we're still determining what rounds went where, ballistics testing, that's what we're gonna be working on the entire evening," Lt. Steve Shebloski told reporters Sunday evening.
Neither officer was injured, nor anyone else in the vicinity, though a driver nearby got a definite scare.
"There was a passing vehicle on University Avenue that during the officer-involved shooting, was struck with a round. It impacted, it appears to be a window," Lt. Shebloski continued.
Closer inspection showed a bullet hole in the support column next to the passenger side of the windshield.
Paramedics were called to the scene, but it was too late to save the man with the handgun. San Diego police will now work on positive identification of the victim, where he lived, any information about an outstanding warrant and a clearer picture of what happened.
The San Diego Police Homicide Department is conducting the investigation of the shooting.