‘Not a random attack': 3 dead, Harbor Police officer shot in multiple shootings downtown

With three dead, including the shooting suspect, and a Harbor Police officer hospitalized with a gunshot wound, San Diego's homicide unit provided details of the department's criminal investigation of the broad-daylight killings.

SDPD Lt. Jud Campbell spoke to the media at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Juniper Street and Kettner Boulevard, where a 26-year-old man was killed when two Harbor Police officers returned fire after their colleague, who did not discharge his weapon, was hit by a bullet in the thigh.

Campbell said the two victims, a 39-year-old man and a woman, 31, were inside a car when they were shot at around 8:22 a.m. Arriving officers pulled them both out of the vehicle but were unable to save them with CPR.

With it being so early in the investigation, there were many details Campbell declined to divulge.

However, "I will say this: This was not a random attack. We do believe this was targeted," Campbell said.

A colleague of Campbell's, homicide Capt. Manuel del Toro, also spoke about the relationships of the victims and their killer.

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"We think that the three knew each other and that there was also a motive for this," del Toro said in Spanish. "He shot many times there with a lot of hatred and aimed at the two of them, so we think there is a connection. That is what we are investigating."

The gunman who targeted them, the officer said, was wearing a hat, green shirt and blue jeans, a description sent out to all the units in the area and a police helicopter, which quickly began broadcasting the suspect's description.

"Obviously, when two people are shot in daylight like this, we want to get that out to as many people as possible," Campbell said.

Two Harbor Police were in the area, at Juniper and Kettner, Campbell said, when a citizen flagged them down around 9:06 a.m.

"Essentially what he described was: He had seen a male duck behind an electrical box," Campbell said. "That drew his attention to the male. He listened to the announcement from [police helicopter] ABLE … and realized this is probably the person who police are looking for."

Four Harbor Police officers moved into the area and quickly began issuing commands to the man hidden behind the electrical box.

"As they were doing that, it appears the suspect began firing at them, multiple rounds," Campbell said. "Two of the officers returned fire, striking the suspect, and, as you know, one of the Harbor Police officers was struck in the thigh area."

The suspect, who was shot multiple times, was taken to the hospital, where he subsequently died of his injuries.

Campbell said a firearm, which appears to be a semi-automatic handgun, was found at the scene, as were discharged shell casings. The lieutenant also said investigators have taken statements from the dozens of witnesses who were in the area, and are also gathering video surveillance. Two separate homicide teams, one at each shooting scene, are conducting the investigation.

"Our goal is to know what happened and why," Campbell said.

SDPD believes that everybody involved has been positively identified and that they are all San Diegans.

The shooting in Little Italy

San Diego Police are investigating a deadly shooting in broad daylight Wednesday in San Diego's Little Italy neighborhood that was followed by a shootout involving police a short while later.

Officers were called to Ash and Union streets around 8:20 a.m. Police at first confirmed that one person had died, and, later, said a second victim was killed as well.

Don Stevenson told NBC 7 that he witnessed the incident near Ash Street.

"I was pulling up to a job site," Stevenson said, "a guy walked up to a car and shot and killed two people and took off running."

The second downtown shooting

About 45 minutes into the investigation of that shooting, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said at a news conference held around 10 a.m., officers from the San Diego Harbor Police who were in the area assisting in the suspect search located him about a mile away, in the 2200 block of Kettner Boulevard, close to Juniper Street. The suspect fired at the police, Wahl said, and shot an officer in the hip.

"We believe he's going to be OK, but his status is unknown," Wahl said.

The second shooting took place not far from the popular Crack Shack restaurant. An employee of the eatery said they heard the shots and dived to the ground for their safety, remaining there for about 40 minutes. A worker also showed NBC 7 photos of their car, hit by gunfire.

Police then returned fire and struck the suspect, who has also been taken to the hospital. The department's homicide captain told NBC 7 later in the morning that the suspect had also died.

"The motive and the reason behind this shooting is completely unknown at this point," Wahl said, adding that he had no information yet on the suspect's identity.

"I want to put out to the public that there is no further threat to the community," Wahl said, "that we have everybody that was involved in this initial shooting incident."

Wahl began the news conference by saying that the situation could have been much worse.

"This is Little Italy," Wahl said. "We have people walking the streets, coffee shops."

Police are urging residents to avoid the area of both shootings while the investigation is still active.

Update on the Harbor Police officer who was shot

The officer who was shot was taken to the UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest for treatment.

Around 1 p.m., Harbor Police Chief Magda Fernandez provided an update on the condition of the officer.

"I did speak to him before he went into surgery," said Fernandez, who declined to identify the lawman at this time. "He was awake, he was alert and he was in good spirits."

The officer, who has only been with the Harbor Police for three months and is currently in field training, is now recovering after surgery, which was completed around noon.

"I will tell you that the actions of all officers on scene saved lives today," Fernandez said, saying that Wednesday's incident was a prime example of the dangers the police face every day.