Two patrol officers, a service dog and a vandalism suspect carrying a torch and flammable liquid were injured in North Park Wednesday during a fraught encounter that ended in a police shooting, authorities reported.
Officers responding to a report of a disturbance in the area of El Cajon Boulevard and Oregon Street at about 9 a.m. Wednesday arrived to find a man walking through the neighborhood breaking car windows with a hammer, according to the San Diego Police Department.
The man then tried to set fire to a nearby sex shop in the 4000 block of 30th Street, SDPD Officer Sarah Foster said. As officers intervened, two of them and a police dog suffered burn injuries, Foster said.
After several unsuccessful attempts to subdue the man with a beanbag shotgun, officers opened fire on him with their service firearms, according to police. Paramedics took the suspect to a hospital in undisclosed condition.
The injured officers drove themselves to get medical care for burns to their hands, and the assaulted service canine was taken to an emergency veterinary clinic, Foster said.
