A man who allegedly brandished and fired off an assault rifle at a San Ysidro mobile home park Wednesday afternoon was fatally shot when he allegedly pointed the weapon at officers, police said.
Patrol personnel responded just after 1:30 p.m. to a report of gunfire in the 100 block of West Calle Primera, according to the San Diego Police Department.
Witnesses reported hearing gunshots and seeing a man walking through the mobile home park near the southern junction of Interstate 5 and Interstate 805 with what appeared to a rifle resembling an AK-47, said SDPD Lt. Matt Dobbs said.
“The witnesses described the man as acting strangely and (reported he) appeared to be hiding from someone,” Dobbs said.
Officers cordoned off the area “as they developed a tactical plan to handle the incident as safely as possible,” Dobbs said.
“At one point, the man approached the officers’ location and fired a round from his rifle,” Dobbs said. “The man retreated behind a row of RVs and was again seen a few second later, still holding the rifle.”
The man did not comply with orders to drop the firearm, according to Dobbs.
“According to a witness, the man raised the weapon towards the east — in the direction of the officers — and gunshots were again heard and the man fell to the ground,” Dobbs said. “Officers immediately approached and began administering first aid, until being relieved by medics. Unfortunately, the man did not survive and was pronounced deceased at the scene.”
No other civilians or officers were injured, Dobbs said, adding that “a loaded assault-style rifle was found next to the man.”
“One San Diego police officer fired his weapon during the incident,” Dobbs said. “The officer’s name is not being released at this time, but he is a 2 1/2-year veteran of the department.”
Police had initially reported that the suspect fired at an officer, but it’s unclear if investigators still believe that to be the case.
The name of the suspect, described as a 50-year-old man who lived in the mobile home park, was withheld.
The gunfire prompted a brief lockdown at nearby Willow Elementary School.
Anyone with information about the shooting was urged to call the SDPD Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
Updated at 10:20 p.m. April 3, 2019
— City News Service
