A 79-year-old man was fatally shot in front of his Bay Ho-area workplace shortly before dawn Tuesday, possibly after refusing to turn over his vehicle to a would-be carjacker, authorities said.
Patrol officers flagged down by employees of a McDonald’s restaurant in the 4700 block of Mission Bay Drive in Pacific Beach at about 5:15 a.m. found the victim inside the business, which he had just entered suffering from a gunshot wound, according to the San Diego Police Department.
Paramedics took the gravely injured man to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His name was withheld pending family notification.
Homicide detectives have determined that the victim had been sitting in his parked car at his workplace in the 4400 block of Morena Boulevard when a thin man in a gray hooded sweatshirt confronted him and “likely attempted to carjack his vehicle,” SDPD Lt. Jud Campbell said.
“When the victim did not immediately surrender his vehicle, the suspect fired at least one round from a firearm through the driver’s-side window glass, striking the victim and causing his injuries,” the lieutenant said.
Following the gunfire, the shooter fled on foot in an unknown direction, and the victim drove off, traveling about a mile to the south before stopping at the fast-food restaurant near the intersection of Garnet Avenue and Interstate 5.
No detailed description of the assailant was immediately available.
Updated at 4:29 p.m. May 3, 2022