POINT LOMA (NEWS 8/CNS) - A man was killed in a confrontation with police officers after he broke into a home in Point Loma on Sunday, San Diego police said.
Officers were called at about 6 a.m. to the 1300 block of Trieste Drive, on reports of a man trying to break into homes, said SDPD Lt. Mike Holden.
Upon their arrival, officers found the man in the front yard of a home on Trieste Drive, Holden said.
"As soon as the officers arrived here, our male suspect began throwing bricks he got from the front yard at the patrol officers," said Holden. "One brick struck the patrol car."
Police say the man then ran toward a nearby home, broke through a glass door and ran into the kitchen.
There, investigators say he showed a knife they think he grabbed from the home.
"One of the officers was armed with a bean bag shotgun the other with an AR-15 rifle," said Holden.
Both officers discharged those weapons.
The man was hit at least once and pronounced dead at the home.
"Every incident is different," Holden said. "In instances like this, we try, if we have the opportunity, to have a less lethal option."
Holden said the suspect's name could not be released as his next of kin had not yet been notified of his death.
The owners of the home were present at the time of the break-in, but were uninjured, Holden said.
The officers involved in the shooting were also not injured, Holden said. They were also not publicly identified.
The residents are obviously shaken, but they are working with law enforcement during the investigation.
Hours later investigators picked up clues on the surrounding streets.
They taped off several areas as they discovered items that the suspect might have dropped along the way including gardening material, a pillow and a backpack.
Police say the officers were wearing their body cameras and there is video of the incident, but they aren't releasing it citing the ongoing investigation.