Officer Shot in City Heights, Suspect Dead: SDPD

A San Diego police officer was in extremely critical condition Saturday evening after being shot in City Heights by a suspect who may have committed another shooting earlier in the day, report San Diego police.

The officer was taken to a local hospital and there’s no official word on his current condition. Officials are withholding the officer’s identity until all of his family members have been notified, police said.

A female civilian called in the officer-involved shooting just after 5:30 p.m using a police scanner, according to a media release.

She told police that an officer had been shot at University Avenue and 45th Street. Civilians reportedly rendered first-aid to the officer until other officers arrived on the scene.

On Sunday, police shed more details on the series of events that surrounded the shooting.

According to SDPD, the suspect, who allegedly shot the officer, may have committed another shooting in El Cajon just before the officer-involved incident was reported.

At 5:22 p.m., a man was shot in the face with a shotgun in the parking lot of an In-N-Out restaurant on N. Magnolia Avenue, police said.

The suspect in the shooting fled the scene in a black Audi with paper plates police said. The victim who was shot in the face is expected to survive, police said.

An officer, un-aware of the shooting, spotted a black Audi speeding west on the Interstate 8 a few minutes later. He began chasing the vehicle, attempting to pull it over for traffic violation, but decided in the interest of public safety to terminate the chase. The driver was last seen going southbound on State Route 15.

Within minutes, a link was made between the vehicle sighting and the shooting by police and an “all units” broadcast was put out at 5:29 p.m. for the suspect in the fast-food shooting.

It was shortly after that broadcast that the officer-involved shooting was reported.

Witnesses at the scene reported a similar vehicle, describing a male suspect who was driving a black sedan with paper plates. They said the suspect's vehicle pulled up on the side of the officer’s. The man then pointed a shotgun out of the passenger side window and fired at  the officer police said.

The suspect fled the scene after the shooting.

At 6 p.m. police received a report that a black Audi had been parked in front of an apartment building in the 4000 block of 48th Street and that it may have been involved in the officer’s shooting.

When the San Diego Police Air Support Unit arrived they spotted the suspect getting into a black Audi, carrying a shotgun.

As the suspect pulled off and drove south on 48th Street, officers began closing in on him, driving toward the suspect and blocking streets in an attempt to arrest him.

The suspect reportedly grabbed the shotgun, at which point officers fired their weapons on him.

The suspect’s vehicle then rolled backwards and down the street before crashing into a fence, police said.

The suspect was pronounced dead at 6:23 p.m. after being pulled from the car.

Police, thinking a second suspect may have been in the apartment on 48th street, called in SWAT to secure the area, however after entering the building around 10 p.m. they found no one inside.

The suspect’s identity is being withheld, as police continue to investigate the incident.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

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