NORTH COUNTY–A male driver who verbally threatened to shoot Orange County Sheriff’s deputies at a standoff off near Las Pulgas Road was fatally shot by deputies, a San Diego Sheriff’s Department spokesman said Tuesday.
A deputy from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department came upon a man in a vehicle acting strangely. The driver of the vehicle was aggressively pointing his finger at the deputy and told him he had a weapon and he was going to kill him and then kill himself.
The deputy retreated to his vehicle and spoke to the man for about one hour. Additional deputies arrived as well as agents from the United States Border Patrol.
The driver then exited his vehicle and extended his right arm and pointed his hand at the deputies and agents. His hand was wrapped in a black shirt concealing a portion of his hand and arm.
Fearing for their safety, a deputy fired less lethal projectiles at the man possibly striking him in the abdomen. The suspect briefly paused then pointed his right hand back at them. They then fired their weapons at the suspect striking him multiple times. Deputies performed CPR on the man, but despite their resuscitation efforts he was pronounced dead. None of the deputies and agents was injured.
The suspect was a 55 year-old male who was a resident of Vista. The man’s identity is withheld pending notification of next of kin has been notified.
The incident will be investigated by detectives from the San Diego Sheriff’s Homicide Detail.
