An investigation is underway after El Cajon police shot and killed a driver of a truck who tried to run officers over. NBC 7’s Jeanette Quezada reports on Dec. 11, 2024.
El Cajon police shot and killed a woman Wednesday after she allegedly tried to run over officers in the police station's parking lot, officials said later in the afternoon.
San Diego homicide investigators responded to the shooting and are handling the homicide investigation per a memorandum of understanding that discourages law enforcement agencies from conducting investigations involving their own officers.
Just prior to the shooting at 12:42, officers were holding a retirement ceremony inside the building, acting SDPD Lt. Jonathan Dungan told the media during an afternoon news conference.
El Cajon Police are investigating an officer involved shooting, which occurred outside the police station. The media is asked to stage in the west parking lot of 100 Civic Center Way. This is an ongoing investigation, more details to follow.
— El Cajon Police (@elcajonpolice) December 11, 2024
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"While they were outside looking for the landscape of how this retirement ceremony was going to happen — a captain was retiring today — there was a truck that was parked in the parking lot, and the truck, as the [sergeant and lieutenant] were standing on the sidewalk at least 15 feet off the street, the truck backed out of its parking spot, and it appeared that they were going to drive away," Dungan said. "Instead, the truck pointed at the officers and then stopped for a moment."
Dungan, who said he had reviewed video footage of the incident captured by a security camera, said that the officers noticed the vehicle acting strangely/
"And then, out of nowhere, the truck veered directly toward the officers," Dungan said. "The officers tried to get out of the way, but the truck turned quickly and actually struck the sergeant, throwing him into the air. At that point, the lieutenant was calling for additional officers for help and was trying to get away from the truck … [and the] sergeant was on the ground. The truck reversed again and drove toward the officers."
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At that point the sergeant, who may have still been on the ground, and a responding officer both opened fire on the woman, hitting her multiple times.
The driver, who Dungan said was in her 20s but declined to identify pending family notification, was given first aid and brought to a local hospital, where she died of her injuries.
The sergeant, who was originally thought to have broken his arm, was also taken to the hospital. Dungan said, though, that his injuries actually turned out to be minor, and he has since been released from Scripps Mercy Hospital in Hillcrest.
Footage from the scene showed a black truck with the driver's side window shattered and bullet holes in the door. Caution tape surrounded the scene.
"This is a scary event," Dungan said when asked to characterize the incident. "Those officers were standing in front of their station, not taking any enforcement action, not trying to contact anyone. They were preparing for a retirement ceremony. This was a very scary event for those officers that were involved, for the lieutenant and the sergeant that were involved, and it's a tragedy that this has happened. It's gonna be investigated thoroughly to make sure everything was done accordingly."
It's unknown at this time if the officers knew the woman in the truck, according to Dungan, who added that it was also too early to know whether it was a targeted attack.
"We don't have any indication that they did, but that will be part of our investigation," Dungan said.
