A Lakeside man confronted about alleged child porn opened fire inside his apartment, shooting and injuring two deputies before shooting himself, according to the man’s girlfriend.
The suspect has been confirmed as 30-year-old Daniel Robert Witczak, according to the sheriff's department.
Witczak's girlfriend told NBC 7 San Diego she was getting her two daughters ready for school when she found pornographic pictures and video and her two girls in the middle of sexual acts with Witczak on his cell phone.
She was in the process of taking her daughters to school but then went to the sheriff’s office, showed them the photos and then called the suspect on a deputy-tapped phone line to confront him.
Witczak told her he had planned to sell the photos for $50,000 to a child pornography site, NBC 7 San Diego reported.
NBC 7 learned that Witzcak was detained last month for Domestic Violence, but did not appear in court.
The couple had been dating a year when the suspect became unemployed, according to the woman. She said he planned to support them with the money he would have made with the illicit photos.
Deputies and a child abuse detective deputy went to the apartment to confront Witczak while the mother and daughters waited directly outside the complex. She said after deputies stormed the apartment, her boyfriend shot the two deputies and then shot himself.
Local
The standoff lasted for about 15 minutes around 12:15 p.m. Tuesday at 12701 Mapleview St., according to Lt. Mike Munsey with the San Diego Sheriff's Department.
The department also confirmed the names of the two deputies involved. Detective Ali Perez and Sgt. Craig Johnson, both veterans with the department, were shot.
Lt. Duncan Fraser from the sheriff's department said Witczak used a high-powered rifle to shoot at the deputies.
"At this point, I can tell you that we have two of our deputies that sustained gunshot injuries and a suspect that sustained gunshot injuries," Fraser said.
Click here for updates on the deputies injured.
The department is doing extensive canvassing of the area during the night-long investigation.The entire sheriff’s homicide detail is on scene investigating, Fraser said. They just secured a warrant to investigate the residence.
“We will be out here all night,” Fraser said. “There are numerous witnesses to this event.”
The two deputies were sent to Sharp Memorial Hospital in Kearny Mesa. Sheriff Bill Gore arrived around 1:30 p.m. to visit the injured deputies.
Witczak went to Scripps Mercy Hospital, according to a hospital source.
Witczak's girlfriend told NBC 7 San Diego that he was employed as a mechanic, but has been out of work for a week and a half. His former employer told NBC 7 San Diego that he was let go after a week of work because he was "unreliable." They are shocked to hear of the allegations he abused the two girls.
Resident Jodi Davis lives across the street where the shooting occurred and said the police ordered her and her neighbors back into their apartments.
“I heard a lot of shots being fired. Multiple shots, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang,” she said. “At least 12 to 18 shots being fired....I said 'Oh my gosh those are gunshots!'"
A lockdown was ordered at nearby El Capitan High School at 10410 Ashwood St. as a result of the incident. Several students told NBC 7 San Diego that they heard shots, teachers told them to get them under desks in their classrooms for about an hour. The lockdown was later lifted and students were given permission to go home around 1:20 p.m.
On Wednesday, El Capitan High School enforced a late start, with the first class starting at 8:27 a.m.
NBC 7 reporters at the scene said were between 30-40 officers from multiple agencies in San Diego.
The area of the shooting is less than half a mile from the intersection of state Route 67 and Mapleview Street.
The apartment complex was closed and for those residents who have been displaced, the Red Cross has set up at Lindo Lake Park, where investigators expect to be all night long.
Check back for updates on this story.
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