San Diego Police cruiser. Photo by Chris Stone
A man who allegedly attacked a pair of women with a sharp metal object at a Fairmount Park home, along with a police dog and an officer during an ensuing standoff, was fatally shot by San Diego police Tuesday.
A sheriff’s department official told reporters police initially responded just after 8 a.m. Tuesday to the 1500 block of Bridgeview Drive in response to what was described as a family dispute, in which two women in their 70s were attacked by the suspect with a sharp object. Both women were taken to hospitals in unknown condition, but are expected to survive, according to a county sheriff’s news release.
Authorities initially indicated the suspect may have been armed with a machete, but later described the weapon only as some type of sharp object.
The suspect, described as a 48-year-old man, barricaded himself inside the home when police arrived, setting off a standoff, according to the sheriff’s department.
Police attempted to negotiate a surrender, but the suspect would not comply, sheriff’s officials said, prompting police to use pepper spray and deploy a canine in an attempt to take the man into custody.
A sheriff’s spokesman said the suspect struck the dog, also with some sort of sharp object, and an officer was also “assaulted,” but it was unclear if they were hit by the same weapon used in the earlier attack.
That’s when police gunfire erupted, killing the suspect, according to the sheriff’s department. According to the sheriff’s department, officers “immediately began life-saving measures,” and paramedics took the suspect to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The suspect’s name was not immediately released. No officers were injured during the incident, according to the sheriff’s department.
Updated at 3:54 p.m. Aug. 24, 2022