Authorities released the name Wednesday of a patrolman who opened fire on a suspect who allegedly blasted a shotgun in the direction of police during a lengthy standoff in Hillcrest.
No one was injured in last week’s exchange of gunfire between San Diego police Officer Brandon Gibson and 22-year-old Fabian Equihua Quevedo in the busy commercial-residential neighborhood northwest of Balboa Park, said SDPD public-affairs Lt. Shawn Takeuchi.
The events that led to the shootout began last Wednesday evening, when Quevedo allegedly called a crisis hotline to say he wanted to end his life by committing “suicide by cop.”
It was not immediately clear exactly where in the city Quevedo was, but after members of his family contacted police, officers determined that he was staying at Abpopa Hillcrest, a multi-story “micro loft” building in the 3700 block of Fourth Avenue, Takeuchi said.
After arriving at the hotel about midnight and getting no response at Quevedo’s rented third-floor room, officers elected to depart for the time being to avoid the chance of bringing about a violent confrontation by forcing entry.
About 9:30 the next morning, Quevedo called the police, told a dispatcher he had a gun and said he wanted to force officers to kill him, Takeuchi said.
Patrol personnel then returned to the hotel and tried in vain for more than three hours to persuade Quevedo to disarm himself and surrender.
Shortly after 1 p.m., Quevedo allegedly fired at least one shot out a window in the direction of officers, prompting Gibson, an eight-year member of the San Diego Police Department, to return fire.
Though witnesses told news crews eight to 10 shots had sounded, there were no reports of injuries.
At that point, police evacuated the building along with nearby residences and businesses, cleared pedestrians out of the area and closed surrounding streets in all directions.
SWAT personnel, including snipers, took up positions around the building where Quevedo was hunkered down, and administrators at Florence Elementary School, several blocks away, put the campus on lockdown as a precaution.
Officers and crisis counselors then worked through the afternoon and well into the night to convince the suspect to give himself up without further violence.
Quevedo finally surrendered about 12:30 a.m. Friday. He was booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of assault with a firearm on law enforcement personnel.
— City News Service