Police officers were involved in a fatal shooting with a vehicle pursuit suspect in the Encanto area early Saturday morning, officials said.
The officer-involved shooting happened around 1:15 a.m. in the 6500 block of Brooklyn Avenue, SDPD Officer Frank Cali confirmed.
It all began when an officer tried to initiate a traffic stop on a speeding vehicle carrying three occupants in the 5400 block of Imperial Avenue.
Despite the officer’s police lights and siren, the driver did not yield and instead led officers on a pursuit. At that point, two other officers joined to assist in the pursuit.
Eventually, the driver made a U-turn at a dead end on Brooklyn Avenue. Three officers exited their patrol cars and once again attempted to stop the vehicle. They verbally ordered the driver and occupants to exit the car.
Officials say that’s when the driver of the sedan allegedly accelerated toward the officers. The officers verbally demanded he stop the car.
Fearing for their lives, the three officers fired their service weapons, fatally striking the driver and wounding a 19-year-old female passenger riding in the front seat.
The car came to a stop and the officers rendered aid and called medics.
The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The Medical Examiner's office later identified him as San Diego resident Jonathan F. Vasquez, 21.
The injured passenger was transported to a local hospital with a gunshot wound to the shoulder and is expected to survive her injuries, SDPD Capt. Terry McManus said at the scene.
An 18-year-old male passenger riding in the backseat of the suspect vehicle was not injured by the gunfire. According to detectives, the car driven by Vasquez was an unreported stolen car.
The officers involved in the shooting were later identified by the SDPD as Sergio Gallegos, Rogelio Medina and Nicholas Troncale. Officials say they have been with the Department for six, five and four years, respectively.
