Authorities released the name today of a 27-year-old burglary suspect who was nude when he allegedly attacked a police officer outside a Mira Mesa home, prompting the lawman to wound him with gunfire in self-defense.
Philip Anthony McMahon of San Diego remains hospitalized in fair condition with a gunshot wound to the chest, according to police.
Officer Christopher Gripp was responding to a report of a burglary at a house in the 7900 block of Merrington Place when he found McMahon naked and standing in glass shards next to a broken side window of the residence shortly after noon Monday, Lt. Mike Hastings said. A neighbor stood nearby, armed with a baseball bat.
Gripp ordered McMahon to surrender, at which point the suspect allegedly attacked him, pushing him through a wooden fence bordering a neighboring yard. During the ensuing struggle, the officer tried in vain twice to subdue the combative man by zapping him with an electric stun gun, which had no discernable effect, according to Hastings.
The “extended” struggle ended after McMahon allegedly tried to remove the officer’s service gun from its holster, causing it to fall to the ground, the lieutenant said. Gripp managed to get the pistol back and open fire on the assailant, Hastings said.
Despite his wound, the suspect continued to resist until other officers arrived and helped Gripp get him under control, Hastings said.
McMahon was expected to face charges of burglary, assault on a peace officer and resisting arrest upon being released from medical care.
Gripp has been with the San Diego Police Department for five years and currently is assigned to the agency’s Northeastern Division.
— City News Service