An off-duty San Diego Community College District police officer fatally shot a man who San Diego police say stabbed the officer on Mission Bay's Fiesta Island Wednesday.
San Diego police responded to the area around 10 a.m. Wednesday for a reported stabbing and found one man with stab wounds and another man shot.
SDPD Lt. Jud Campbell said, from their investigation, it appears the altercation happened almost immediately after the off-duty officer arrived on Fiesta Island with his dogs.
"Shortly after his arrival, he was confronted by the other individual who ended up stabbing him multiple times in the upper torso," Campbell said. "As that stabbing was happening it seems that the officer got a firearm and ended up shooting the male."
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Campbell said in a news release Wednesday night that the man used a knife, which was later found on the sand near him, and that the officer used his personal weapon.
The man who was shot, described by police as a 41-year-old man, died at the scene. His name will not be released until his family is notified, police said.
The officer was taken to the hospital with serious injuries but is expected to live, Campbell said.
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It is unknown what triggered the stabbing and the relationship between the two men is unknown, Lt. Campbell said. Neither has been publicly identified.
Campbell said the off-duty officer has been with the San Diego Community College District for 25 years. The district released the following statement in regards to the incident:
“Our focus is on the condition of our officer who sustained serious injuries during an assault this morning at Fiesta Island while he was off duty. Our thoughts are with him and his family at this time. The District is cooperating with the San Diego Police Department on the investigation.”
Both men came with dogs and the San Diego Humane Society did pick up a dog from the scene, according to spokesperson Nina Thompson.
San Diego police was blocking access to Fiesta Island during the investigation. The area was back open before 4 p.m.
Police are asking anyone with information about this incident to call the Homicide Unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
This is a developing story. Details may change as information is released.