Sandy MaloneSan Diego, CA – San Diego police officials released bodycam video from an officer-involved shooting that occurred earlier this month after a man pointed a gun at firefighters responding to smoke in his condo (video below).
The incident occurred on June 4 in the 11200-block of Tierrasanta Boulevard near Colina Dorada Drive after neighbors called 911 and reported smoke coming from under another door in their building, KGTV reported.
The 911 caller told the dispatcher that they had banged on the door of the condo and nobody answered.
She also told the call taker that the man who lived in the smoking condo might have mental problems, the video released by the police department showed.
The dispatcher told the caller to pull the building’s fire alarm and notify her neighbors that they should evacuate the building.
Firefighters arrived on the scene and found smoke coming from under the door of the residence.
Bodycam video showed the firefighters told responding officers that they busted open the door to the unit and as soon as they stepped inside, a man pointed a gun over his shoulder at them.
“I forced the door open and he was sitting on the couch in the living room… as soon as we opened the door, he pointed his firearm at us,” a firefighter told an officer in the video.
Bodycam video showed that officers approached the suspect’s hallway from both sides.
Two officers went down a hallway in search of the proper unit and then turned retreated quickly and took cover after the gunman appeared in the doorway holding his weapon.
Bodycam video showed the gunman pointed his weapon at the retreating officers and began shooting.
That was when officers stationed on the other end of the hallway opened fire on the suspect, KGTV reported.
San Diego Police Officers Cassie Louret, Jason Langley, and Austin Thomas have been identified as the officers who fired their weapons.
The police department said that all three officers had been placed on administrative assignments while the officer-involved shooting is investigated.
After the brief gunfight, the suspect went back into his condo and then jumped off his patio to flee, KGTV reported.
Police said he ran east through the complex’s parking lot and disappeared.
Officers heard a single gunshot from somewhere nearby and then a police helicopter spotted the suspect on the ground, KGTV reported.
Authorities said that it appeared as though the suspect had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound but said they were waiting for the coroner’s report to determine whether he was also shot by any of the officers’ bullets.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is heading up the investigation into the officer-involved shooting, KGTV reported.
Watch the incident unfold in the video below. WARNING – Graphic Content:
Holly Matkin
