A 911 call made near Vista Wednesday night ended with an injured San Diego County Sheriff's deputy and a man hospitalized with a gunshot wound.
The female deputy was responding to a call of four people allegedly smoking marijuana in the laundry room of an apartment complex in the 2200-block of Primrose Avenue just before 8 p.m.
When the deputy arrived at the scene, she contacted four people inside the laundry room. All four people were not residents of the apartment complex, officials said.
Sheriff’s department officials say one of those people was 20-year-old Vista resident Anthony Fernando Garcia.
According to officials, Garcia violently fought with the deputy and the pair got into a struggle.
During their struggle, officials say the deputy tried to deploy her taser, but Garcia grabbed it. Once he had control of the taser, he fired it. The probes did not strike the deputy.
“It was just the one subject who initially was in compliance and followed the deputy’s directions and then basically attacked her as she was attempting to detain him,” said Lt. Glenn Giannantonio.
Fearing for her life, the deputy fired one round from her pistol, striking Garcia, officials said. Garcia was taken to Palomar Hospital for treatment, where officials say he was listed in stable condition and is under guard.
The deputy also sustained injuries during the confrontation. She was treated at a local hospital and later released. Officials did not disclose what type of injuries the deputy sustained.
Residents in the area, including 12-year-old Jovian Madsen heard and witnessed the shooting.
“I heard a loud gunshot and I saw smoke rising out from the gun,” Madsen told NBC 7. “I saw this guy screaming with the bullet, like he was shot, blood everywhere right on the side of his stomach.”
Deputies set up a command post outside a Walgreens in the 300 block of Sycamore Avenue following the shooting. Traffic was controlled in the area as deputies and detectives continued their investigation into the night.
Officials say Garcia will be charged with assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury on a peace officer, resisting an officer with force and removing a weapon from a peace officer.
