3 dead, SoCal cops injured in double homicide and subsequent shootout – East Bay Times

A 26-year-old man fatally shot two people early Wednesday in downtown San Diego and later wounded a Harbor Police officer during a shootout on the streets of Little Italy, police said.

The trainee officer, who did not fire the gun, was shot in the thigh and taken to UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest. He is expected to survive.

The attacker was killed during a shootout with the police.

The names of the officer and suspect in the shooting have not been released.

The incident happened just after 8:20 a.m. when police responded to a shooting on Union Street near West A Street. Police found two gunshot victims in the car — a 39-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman.

Both victims died at the scene. Their names have not been released.

Police were deployed downtown, launching a massive manhunt for the gunman involved in the double murder, with a helicopter circling overhead broadcasting a description of the suspect.

Shortly after 9:05 a.m. — about 45 minutes after the fatal shooting — a witness who heard the description contacted Harbor Police officers to report seeing a man standing behind an electrical box in Little Italy, about a mile from the initial shooting. San Diego. said police homicide Lt. Jud Campbell.

San Diego Police Capt. Manny Del Toro said a witness described the man as wearing “tactical boots and armed with a handgun.”

“According to the description (there was), there was no attempt to hide. He was very outspoken and very aggressive, and immediately there was a shootout with the Harbor Police,” Del Toro said.

Del Toro said the man shot four Harbor Police officers. Campbell said two of them returned fire.

After being wounded, the suspect was given medical aid and taken to the hospital. He died there shortly after 10 am

Several vehicles and a building were damaged in the shooting, which happened at the southwest corner of Kettner Boulevard and Juniper Street, police said. A bullet hole was clearly visible in the window of the building. No other injuries were reported.

Police are still investigating the relationship between the alleged attacker and the two murder victims, but investigators believe the three knew each other. All three were San Diego residents.

“This was not a random attack. We believe it was intentional,” Campbell said.

According to him, detectives are reviewing surveillance footage and checking witness statements of the two events. Investigators did not immediately know how the suspect got from the initial shooting scene to Little Italy.

Harbor Police Chief Magda Fernandez said the injured officer has been with her agency for three months and is still undergoing training. She said she spoke to him before he had surgery. “He was awake, alert and in good spirits,” she said.

Fernandez said the incident “highlights the dangers our men and women in uniform face every day.”

“The actions of all the officers at the scene today saved a life,” she said.

Speaking to reporters near the scene of the shooting, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl praised the Harbor Police officers.

“This is little Italy. We have people who walk the streets, coffee shops,” said Val. “I believe their ability to run for the shot and courageously engage this man saved his life.”

Campbell said one homicide unit was on Union Street and another was in Little Italy investigating the second shooting.

“There are a lot of moving parts here,” he said. “Our goal is to find out what happened and why.”

Harbor police officers were wearing body cameras during the shootout, the lieutenant said.

Police blocked off several streets in Little Italy with yellow police tape and said it would be several hours before investigators reopened the streets.

San Diego police are investigating the homicide, as well as the shooting by Harbor police, under a protocol designed to keep departments from investigating incidents involving their own officers.

Originally published: November 14, 2024 at 4:42 AM PST