A 34-year-old man was shot at by El Cajon police officers after pointing his gun at them outside an El Cajon residence on Thursday morning, according to police officials.
Lt. Tim Henton of El Cajon police reported that officers responded to a home in the 900 block of Ellen Lane at about 6:52 a.m.
According to Henton, police received a 911 call from a woman claiming that her estranged husband, identified as Jose Albert Garcia, was at her front door armed with a gun and demanding she give him their two children.
Arriving officers found Garcia in the driveway. Henton said Garcia was uncooperative and refused to follow orders the officers were giving him.
According to Henton, Garcia showed officers that he was carrying a gun in his waistband, before drawing the gun.
Trained negotiators were said to be at the scene attempting to negotiate with Garcia for 90 minutes.
As the standoff between officers and Garcia continued, Henton said Garcia threatened himself with the gun he was carrying and began waving the weapon around.
Henton reported that officers attempeted to subdue Garcia with less-lethal beanbag rounds, but they had no effect on him.
At some point, Garcia pointed the gun he was carrying at officers and pulled the trigger, but the gun malfunctioned and did not fire, according to Henton.
Henton added that officers continued to order Garcia to stop pointing the gun at them. However, according to Henton, Garcia racked the gun and pointed it once more at officers.
It was then that officers fired their weapons at Garcia, striking him in the chest, Henton said.
Garcia was then taken into custody and transported to an area hospital where he was scheduled to undergo surgery due to his injuries. His condition was not immediately known.
The officers involved in the shooting have been working as police officers for seven, 13, and 19 years, according to police.
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Garcia faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer.
An investigation into the incident was on-going, Henton said.
