SAN DIEGO–Authorities arrested a woman Sunday morning on the roof of a parking structure in connection with an “active shooter” and hit-and-run reports in downtown San Diego.
The suspect, identified as 58-year-old Mona Elease Williams, was taken into custody at the parking structure, located near City Hall, at 100 West C Street. She threw her weapon from the top of the structure to the street, according to authorities.
Just after 10:30 a.m., a San Diego police officer was flagged down regarding a hit-and-run accident at West A Street and Kettner Blvd. About five minutes later, one of the officers saw the suspect vehicle, described as a white Sedan, pull into a parking structure. The officer contacted a black female who pointed a handgun at him. She then drove off.
“We began getting calls in of an active shooter,” San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit told reporters at a news conference. “The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon was going on a couple of blocks north of the incident.”
Marathon officials were notified of the ‘active shooter’ report and temporarily stopped the race as a precaution. Runners were moved to a secured area. More than 4,000 runners were impacted by the shutdown.
A police officer responding to a hit-and-run incident accidently shot himself in the leg during the pursuit.
“One officer fired multiple rounds at the suspect. Did not hit her. The officer had a discharge of his firearm and shot himself in the leg,” Chief Nisleit told reporters.
The officer was transported to a local hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
After the incident ended, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon resumed.
Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series released a statement following the incident:
“At 11:43 a.m. PT, race officials were made aware of a situation that required the 2018 Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego race to be stopped. The situation involving an active shooter who was engaged with local law enforcement was not related to today’s race. Officials in conjunction with first responders activated their critical incident protocol. By 11:45 a.m., the course was shut down and approximately 4,900 athletes were rerouted into a designated safe zone.
While the race was officially stopped, law enforcement gave the clearance at 11:56 a.m. PT for runners to resume their progress towards the finish line and the post-race finish area where they were able to meet up with their family and friends. We are incredibly grateful for the quick response and partnership with first responders as we worked together to keep our athletes safe.
We will be following up with additional communication to athletes who were impacted by the race stoppage.”
The investigation of the incident is on-going.
