A domestic violence suspect who allegedly advanced on sheriff’s personnel and his wife with a rifle in his hands outside his Fallbrook home early Friday suffered apparently non-life-threatening wounds when a deputy opened fire on him.
The events that led to the law enforcement gunfire began about 1 a.m., when a woman made an emergency call to report that her husband was despondent and threatening suicide at their residence in the 4900 block of White Lilac Road, according to the San Diego Police Department, which investigates shootings carried out by personnel with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
The woman reported that she had hidden a gun from her husband, 41-year-old Jorge Alberto Sandoval, after he threatened to kill himself with it, SDPD Lt. Steve Shebloski said.
While a pair of deputies were en route to the couple’s home, the wife told a dispatcher that Sandoval had retrieved another firearm and locked himself in a bedroom.
“She additionally reported there were children in the residence,” Shebloski said.
When the patrol personnel arrived in the rural neighborhood just south of the Riverside County line, they met with the woman outside her home, and she informed them that her husband had access to a rifle and a handgun.
A short time later, as the deputies were getting more information from the woman, Sandoval came out from behind the home, carrying a long-barreled gun, according to Shebloski.
“Both deputies began to give (Sandoval) commands,” the lieutenant said. “However, (he) continued to advance towards the deputies and his wife as he pointed the rifle towards them. At this point, one deputy fired his department-issued rifle multiple times, striking the suspect in the … lower body.”
Sandoval then dropped his gun and fell to the ground.
“The deputies were able to call for assistance from other deputies and paramedics,” Shebloski said. “Shortly afterwards, they took the suspect into custody and carried him to a nearby ambulance so medics could provide immediate medical care.”
The woman suffered minor injuries during the incident, according to police, who did not disclose how she wound up hurt.
Upon his release from medical care, Sandoval will be booked on suspicion of spousal abuse and brandishing a firearm in the presence of a peace officer, Shebloski said.
The patrol deputy who fired on the suspect has been employed by the Sheriff’s Department for about 15 years. The lawman, whose name was not immediately available, is assigned to the Fallbrook Sheriff’s Substation.
Updated at 5:56 p.m. April 21, 2023
–City News Service
