Deputy Shoots Man With Shotgun in Encinitas

The shooting involved a male suspect on Shady Tree Lane

A deputy was involved in a shooting in an Encinitas neighborhood Friday morning, San Diego County Sheriff's officials confirmed.

Just after 9:45 a.m., someone made an incomplete call to 911 from a home in the 2000 block of Shady Tree Lane. As deputies drove to the scene, dispatchers told them the person living there had a history of weapons, and another incident was reported there earlier this week.

A witness told officials his neighbor, a 56-year-old man, was in a small grassy area nearby, armed with a shotgun.

When they found him, the man was sitting in the grass with the gun pointed at himself. He told deputies to shoot him and began to turn the weapon in their direction.

Officials say a deputy, fearing for his safety, shot several round from his department-issued AR-15 rifle. The man was hit, though it's unclear how many times.

Falling to the ground, the man started to point his shotgun at them again, so the deputy fired more rounds.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. No law enforcement were injured, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Jan Caldwell. The deputy involved has been with the sheriff's department for less than five years.

Officials shut down two streets near the scene, plus the parking lot of a nearby park. There were at least 10 deputies at the scene by 10:45 a.m. The area is residential with many homes lining the streets.

Aerial footage showed the shotgun, lying in a grassy area near homes.

A neighbor told NBC 7 the suspect had been experiencing marital troubles and deputies had been called out his house before this incident, including a time when the man was throwing things out of the window.

The neighbor said the suspect's wife ran out of their home this morning saying her husband had a shotgun and was going to harm himself.

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