A shoplifting suspect who threatened a store clerk with a knife Monday at a Morena-area market and then took another man hostage when confronted by police was fatally shot by officers following a foot chase that ended at a Mission Valley transient camp.
The events that led to the law-enforcement shooting began shortly after 10:30 a.m., when a man in his 20s walked out of a store in the 1000 block of Morena Boulevard with merchandise he had not paid for, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, which investigates shootings involving SDPD personnel under terms of a regional agreement designed to prevent conflicts of interest.
“The victim (was trying) to stop the suspect when the suspect pulled out a knife and threatened the victim,” sheriff’s Lt. Michael Krugh said. “The suspect then fled the scene on foot.”
A short time later, police spotted a man matching the alleged robber’s description carrying a knife in the 5300 block of Napa Street. When officers ordered him to halt, he refused, prompting them to try to subdue him with an electric stun gun. When that attempt failed, the suspect ran off, and officers gave chase.
The pursuit ended at a squatters’ camp in the 5300 block of Friars Road, Krugh said.
There, the suspect allegedly confronted a bystander, grabbed him, and held the knife to the man’s neck, prompting three officers to open fire on him.
The suspect, whose name was not immediately available, died at the scene of the shooting. No one else was injured during the violent encounter, according to police.
One of the officers who shot the suspect has been employed by San Diego Police Department for 18 months, one for 6 1/2 years and the other for 12 years, Krugh said.