The San Diego Police Department Wednesday released video of a confrontation during which three officers opened fire on a gun-wielding man inside a Tierrasanta condominium building -- missing him -- shortly before the man fled outdoors and fatally shot himself.
On June 4, firefighters were called to a condominium complex at the 11200 block of Tierrasanta Boulevard around noon.
A resident from the complex called 911 for reports of a fire at a unit.
"There is smoke coming out from under the door of the unit and we have a man in there we suspect he has mental issues with, and he is not answering the door," a caller told a 911 dispatcher.
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Once firefighters arrived at the scene, they also saw smoke and after getting no response at the door, they forcibly made their way in. Once inside, they encountered 62-year-old Ronald Rios who was armed with a handgun and pointed it at firefighters, according to police.
Firefighters then exited the condo and notified the police. After the police arrived in front of the condo, they spotted what appeared to be blood and backed away forming a perimeter.
After 20 minutes of unsuccessfully making contact with Rios, he suddenly exited his apartment with a gun in his hand and pointed to officers at the end of a hallway, prompting San Diego Police officers to fire their weapons.
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Police-worn cameras captured footage of the police shooting, during which the officers discharged a total of more than a dozen rounds.
Rios was not hit and it was later determined, that he did not fire his gun at the officers, San Diego Police said.
After the shooting, Rios fled out the back door of his condo, with the gun, and tried getting into a neighbor's apartment, but was not able to, police said.
Sometime after that, officers said they heard a single gunshot fired outside the condominium complex. A police helicopter then flew over the outside the complex to find Rios dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Police officers approached Rios and located a gun next to him. An autopsy later found Rios died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department Homicide Unit responded to the scene and investigated the incident, under a newly-instated protocol.
The investigation will be reviewed by the San Diego County District Attorney's office to determine if the officers bear any criminal liability. The Internal Affairs Until will conduct an investigation to determine if there were any policy violations.
No other information was available.
