A large police presence remained in the Stockton area after San Diego police shot and killed a man near Bethel AME Church. NBC 7’s Shandel Menezes reports.
Officers with the San Diego Police Department fatally shot a man Friday following a standoff outside a church in a Stockton-area neighborhood.
The suspect was inside a car parked next to the Bethel AME Church near 31st and K streets when the gunfire erupted shortly before 11 a.m. Friday, according to police.
Around 3 p.m., Juan Marquez with the homicide unit of the San Diego Sheriff's Department updated the media regarding the incident. SDSO is investigating the shooting, which involved an SDPD officer, per a county memorandum of understanding.
Marquez said that at about 10:10 a.m., a person flagged down an SDPD sergeant who was driving a couple of blocks away and reported that he saw somebody with a black revolver pointing the gun at another person who was walking by. The sergeant immediately called it in, said Marquez, and asked for backup.
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"Within a minute, we had multiple San Diego police officers searching for the vehicle and the subject," Marquez said. "The subject was identified as a young … male adult in his early 20s inside of a blue Ford Fusion."
Officers were able to locate the car when they arrived, Marquez said, and began to "negotiate with the subject and asked them to come outside the vehicle."
The man, who was sitting in the driver's seat, refused, however, according to the sheriff's spokesman.
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There was also a female passenger inside the car, according to Marquez, who said she complied with police instructions and got out of the car. She's currently being interviewed by investigators and was not taken into custody, he added.
When the man in the car still refused to get out, SDPD requested SWAT to be sent out, said Marquez, adding later that the tactical unit arrived during the standoff.
"The officers ended up deploying less-lethal rounds," Marquez said, adding that multiple pepper balls were fired into the Ford.
The man, though, remained in the car, despite having received "multiple, multiple orders," Marquez said.
"At about 10:50, the subject reached out from inside the vehicle with a black revolver," Marquez said. "Officers, fearing for their safety and the safety of their partners and the safety of the citizens, fired multiple rounds inside that vehicle, striking the subject."
The sergeant and five other SDPD officers fired handguns and rifles at the man, Marquez said. It's unknown at this time how many rounds were fired, he added. Officers then moved in to render aid, the spokesman said, and called for an ambulance. Paramedics brought the man to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 11:30 a.m.
Inside the Ford, investigators found the man's weapon, which turned out to be a BB gun that resembled a revolver, the sheriff's department said in a Friday night news release.
"At this point, we do not believe — and we're pretty confident — that no rounds were fired from the subject," Marquez said.
A witness who lives in the neighborhood told NBC 7 that he was cooking breakfast when he heard gunshots — he said he heard between 5-8 shots, but did not hear any confrontation or yelling prior to the shooting.
Detectives will spend the afternoon and the coming days interviewing witnesses, reviewing body-camera footage from police and examining other evidence, according to Marquez, including video recorded by other witnesses.
Pastor says shooting near church 'could have been very catastrophic'
Harvey Vaughn is a pastor to the Bethel AME congregation. Some of them were in the line of fire on Friday.
"At least what we can tell, three bullet holes came in through our stain glass windows," Vaughn told NBC 7. "We had people in here that were preparing our sanctuary for first Sunday."
The pastor says there were 15 more women preparing meals for shut-ins in the connecting kitchen.
Vaughn says Bethel AME — raised in 1887 — is the oldest African American church in San Diego. The addition in 1995 was constructed with stained glass windows imported from France. One of them was pierced by the shots fired.
"I'm happy because no one was in the sanctuary worshipping, and it could have been very catastrophic," Vaughn said.
Police evacuated the church and told those preparing meals for shut-ins to lock the door and stay close to the floor. Shortly after, there was a burst of gunfire. Three rounds that went through the stained glass were from police guns.
Though the standoff lasted less than an hour, the women in the church who were preparing meals and forced to shelter in place were there much longer. Vaughn says they still managed to deliver the food.
"We talk about faith. I preach about faith, but this is faith in action," Vaughn said, adding that it was good fortune that the church daycare, where some 20 children are enrolled, was closed this week.
King-Chavez Primary Academy, which is located near the same corner, is also out this week.
