A suspect in a stolen Range Rover led officers on a chase from Spring Valley to downtown San Diego early Friday, then tried to ram patrol cars before being stopped by police gunfire.
The officer-involved shooting occurred near the downtown Metropolitan Transit System trolley yard on Newton Avenue south of Petco Park, and the suspect was later arrested on Sixth Avenue and Broadway about two blocks from Horton Plaza, San Diego Police Lt. Mike Holden said.
The intersection at Sixth Avenue and Broadway was expected to be closed until about 10 a.m. as detectives wrapped up their investigation, the San Diego Police Department tweeted.
The pursuit began just minutes before midnight when a San Diego County Sheriff‘s deputy tracking a LoJack signal came across the stolen Range Rover SUV in Spring Valley, Holden told media at the scene. A police helicopter joined the pursuit early on, helping sheriff’s deputies and later California Highway Patrol officers track the Range Rover through the East County.
SDPD officers joined the chase on westbound Interstate 8 as it entered the city, following the stolen SUV south on state Route 163 into downtown, Holden said.
“The driver attempted on a number of occasions to strike marked police vehicles with his vehicle,” the lieutenant said. “Officers used evasive maneuvers to avoid those collisions.”
Near the MTS trolley yard, the suspect again attempted to strike an SDPD patrol unit, Holden said.
“The officer driving that vehicle fired his handgun at the suspect,” Holden said. “The suspect quickly drove out of the yard and the pursuit continued to Sixth and Broadway,” where the Range Rover crashed and became disabled.
The suspect, who was identified only as a man in his 20s, “did not sustain any injuries as a result of the officer-involved shooting,” Holden said. He did complain of pain after the crash into a curb that ended the pursuit.
“Shout out to my mom, bro,” the suspect was heard yelling to news cameras at the scene. “I love you, mom.”
He was arrested on suspicion of several counts of assault on police officers with a deadly weapon and felony failure to yield, Holden said. He could also face charges for possession of the stolen Range Rover.
San Diego homicide detectives were asked to investigate the incident — typical in an officer-involved shooting case, even when nobody is injured or killed — and processed the shooting scene first before moving onto the crash scene, Holden said. The investigators were still working the crash scene this morning and expected to be in the area until about 10 a.m.
— City News Service