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Police: Roommate brawl in Mission Valley ends with man being doused in hydrochloric acid

San Diego police said the incident started because the suspect's roommate entered his room.

SAN DIEGO — A dispute between roommates in the Mission Valley area Saturday night ended with at least one person being splashed with hydrochloric acid and a responding officer chemically injured.

San Diego police responded to the 7000 block of Civita Boulevard in Mission Valley around 7 p.m. following reports of two roommates fighting, according to SDPD.

San Diego police received a second 9-1-1 call from the alleged suspect, who admitted to dispatchers he had a "psychotic break" and did douse his roommate with hydrochloric acid, a Watch Commander on duty for SDPD said.

According to the National Institutes of Health, hydrochloric acid is highly corrosive and acutely toxic and is commonly used to neutralize alkaline agents, as a bleaching agent, in food, textile, metal, and rubber industries.

Video from 619 News Media on the scene showed several hazardous response teams with San Diego Fire-Rescue Department entering the Purl apartment complex while other hazmat team members evaluated two men sitting on the sidewalk surrounded by officers, who were believed to be the suspect and victim. 

An unidentified officer with San Diego police who responded to the scene was exposed to the chemical and was taken to an area hospital by ambulance to be treated for their injuries, according to a Watch Commander on duty.

The officer's condition, or the extent of their injuries, was unknown. 

The suspect was arrested for assault.

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