A man suspected of punching and kicking his wife was shot and killed by a San Diego police officer after a brief foot pursuit Monday.
Family members arrived at the home of Victor Ortega, saying he was good man who was not violent.
Michelle Hooper said her brother was killed during an incident that began as a domestic violence call.
"I thought that the police were supposed to use tasers or bean bag guns, but they shot him in the head," Hooper said.
An official told NBCSanDiego a San Diego police officer fired the shot that killed the suspect.
The officer is 29-year-old Jonathan McCarthy, who is assigned to the Northeast Division, according to officials.
Officers attempted to take the man into custody as the result of a domestic violence call according to Lt. Kevin Rooney.
Local
Ortega ran from the home at 8830 Flanders after officers arrived at 7:38 a.m.
A foot chase lasted about two minutes and two blocks Rooney said.
That’s when the suspect ran into a breezeway and closed a wooden door behind him.
The officer kicked the door open and fought with the suspect according to Rooney.
During that fight, one of the officer’s guns dropped to the ground. The suspect grabbed the gun and began to point it at the officer Rooney said.
The officer then shot the suspect with a second gun, killing the suspect officials said.
Resident Jason Crisostomo described the moments before the shooting just a few feet away from his townhome on Flanders Drive.
Crisostomo said he was getting ready for work when heard a loud scuffle. Moments later, right in front of his kitchen window, he heard someone say “Get on the ground!”
Then, he heard three gunshots followed by silence.
He ran upstairs to get a look at what was going on. Out of his townhome window, Crisostomo said he saw a man and his leg was shaking violently.
Emergency workers performed CPR for approximately 10 minutes according to Crisostomo.
After that, the man’s body was draped with a body bag in the shared driveway of several condo units Crisostomo said.
The suspect's wife suffered bloody mouth and teeth. She was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. She's also being interviewed by police investigators.
It's unknown if the couple's two children were home when the incident occurred.
The incident occurred at a street corner south of Mira Mesa Boulevard and about a half mile east of Mira Mesa High School.
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