San Diego shot and killed a man Tuesday morning outside of an elementary school. File Photo Justin Lane/EPA
Sept. 24 (UPI) — San Diego police fatally shot and killed a man on Tuesday who was reportedly found armed outside of an elementary school.
The California Attorney General’s Office has since launched an investigation into the incident under a police accountability law. But the involvement of the attorney general raises additional questions about the incident.
Police received a call at around 6:43 a.m. PDT that a man was sitting on the campus of Fay Elementary School who had a “gun next to him” and was holding a knife, according to department spokesperson Lt. Travis Easter, who described the incident in two brief videos posted to Facebook.
Officers contacted the man and used de-escalation techniques that included firing less-lethal bean bag rounds and using and an officer K-9, Easter told KNSD.
However, police opened fire on the man after their efforts were unsuccessful. Officers performed life-saving measures on the wounded man, but he died at the scene. No officers were injured.
Police have not offered details on the incident, including how many officers were involved, the number of shots fired, the name of the man and his possible motive. Easter said in a video that the incident will be investigated by the California Department of Justice.
“I was having my coffee this morning and then I heard like nine shots and usually people are popping off fireworks but it didn’t sound like that,” resident David Corpus told KNSD. “I went to the top of the alley and then I saw a body at the top of the street.”
The man was homeless and holding a sharp object, witnesses told KFMB-TV.
“As soon as I was coming in, I just got a call from the prime time teacher there just stating not to bring the kids, that an incident happened,” parent Johanna Vargas told the station. “And I asked her, ‘What happened?’ And she just said that a homeless man came in through the door where the parents have access, and had, like, a sharp object. I don’t know if she said it was a knife or what, but that he was making signs, like, if he was going to stab someone.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta confirmed the investigation in a press release. It stated that the investigation was being pursued under Assembly Bill 1506, a 2020 state law that mandates state prosecutors investigate when police fatally shoot an unarmed civilian and bring charges against the officer if justified.
Police said the man was fleeing from the school and the time of the shooting, reported Uptown News. Neither police nor Bonta’s office responded to the news outlet’s questions about why the investigation was launched when the man was reportedly armed.
However, KFMB-TV reported that a gun that appeared to have an orange tip was found near the man’s body. The state’s definition of “unarmed” can include someone with a fake weapon, according to the station.