The Mexican Consulate in San Diego is getting involved in the San Diego Police Department's investigation of a deadly shooting by one of their officers of a Mexican man in the Mountain View area on Monday.
Alfredo Castro-Gutierrez, 39, was shot and killed by SDPD officer Isai Castillo, a two-year veteran of the department's Southeastern Division, after a report of a disturbance at a home along the 300 block of South Pardee Street early Monday.
"The Government of Mexico, through the Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego, is promptly monitoring the situation and has asked local authorities for a transparent, impartial and expeditious investigation to clarify the facts and establish responsibilities," the consulate said, in part, in a statement released Friday.
The consulate said once they have transparent information from San Diego police, the Foreign Affairs Ministry will determine if the consulate needs to take legal or diplomatic action on behalf of a Mexican citizen.
"The Government of Mexico deeply regrets the death of the Mexican national and reiterates that the protection of Mexican communities abroad constitutes the highest priority of our diplomacy," the consulate went on to say.
NBC 7 has reached out to San Diego police for a response to the consulate's statement but has not yet heard back.
SDPD's Homicide Unit is investigating the incident and said the department would forward its findings to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office and the FBI to determine liability, Freedman said.
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The police department quickly released on Monday some information about the the shooting that happened just before 5 a.m. in the neighborhood east of Interstate 15, near Mount Hope Cemetery.
SDPD Lt. Matt Dobbs said officers received a call about a half-hour earlier from residents of the home who reported a man who was staying there as a guest was acting "paranoid," and had ripped a metal curtain rod from the wall and was breaking windows and other things inside.
SDPD Capt. Richard Freedman, of the department’s Homicide Unit, said a witness also told 911 that the man was threatening people inside the home, though it was unclear how many people were inside.
A neighbor had also called 911 to report the commotion, which they described as sounding like someone was being tortured, Lt. Dobbs said.
The call, which was originally a report of vandalism, was upgraded to a report of violence with a weapon.
When officers arrived, Dobbs said they set up their command post a short distance away from the home so they could call for resources and plan how to safely respond to the call.
A group of three officers then made their way toward the home, and as they approached they could see Castro-Gutierrez through the window, and could hear him yelling and breaking things, Dobbs said.
Officers gave the Castro-Gutierrez commands in English and Spanish but were given no response.
As they were getting into position to try and negotiate with him, Castro-Gutierrez crawled out of a broken window and made his way toward the gate of the property. Then, Castro-Gutierrez ran at officers, curtain rod in hand, according to Dobbs.
One of the officers deployed a stun gun, and another a bean bag round. The third officer fired his handgun, hitting the man at least once, Dobbs said.
Castro-Gutierrez fell to the ground.
Dobbs said the officers gave the him medical aid and called medics. He was taken to a local hospital where he died a short time later, the captain confirmed.
No one else was hurt.
Little is known about Castro-Gutierrez. SDPD investigators do not yet know if the man had a history of violence or mental illness.
The Mexican consulate said they were working with the man's family to provide any legal support they may need.
