The gunman in last week’s deadly downtown ambush of a married couple and police shootout was not legally supposed to have a gun. But when San Diego police took away his duty weapon during an arrest, they say they had no idea he had a personal firearm registered under a different name.
The gunman, Christopher Kyle Farrell was born Christopher Kyle Farrell Fluty. Court records reveal he dropped the Fluty when he legally changed his name in 2022. Before he changed his name, in 2021, Fluty purchased a .40 caliber Sig Sauer.
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Police say Farrell used that weapon to end the lives of Rachael Martinez and her husband Jose Medina. Both were gunned down getting out of their car last Wednesday morning, just blocks from the downtown courthouse. All three were scheduled to appear before a judge for a restraining order hearing against Farrell. He also used that gun to wound a San Diego Harbor Police officer trainee, before other officers shot him to death.
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Martinez and Farrell had a short-lived affair that began in August. When that ended, court documents reveal Farrell began harassing the couple and threatening to arrest Medina. At that time, Farrell was licensed as a security guard and working for a MTS contractor. In October, Martinez and Medina filed restraining orders against Farrell after he reportedly sexually assaulted Martinez.
Those restraining orders, alongside an emergency protective order, demanded that Farrell turn over any guns, ammo and body armor he owned. Farrell’s work service weapon was taken away after his arrest for the alleged sexual assault. When police searched for weapons under Farrell’s name, nothing came up. They say they didn’t know about the name change until after the bloodshed downtown.
However, Martinez told police that Farrell had a personal firearm. NBC 7 Investigates asked police why they didn’t search Farrell’s home, looking for that weapon. They told us it didn’t happen because no gun was involved in the reported assault, and because Martinez did not tell police she feared Farrell would shoot her.
Police interviewed Martinez twice before her death about the reported sexual assault and met with a special prosecutor with the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office. Police say there was not enough evidence to “immediately move forward” with a criminal case against Farrell.
