Officers shot knife-wielding suspect to death in Morena neighborhood: San Diego Sheriff's Dept.

Law enforcement swarmed Morena Boulevard on Monday morning.

A knife-wielding suspect was killed when police opened fire on him as he was assaulting another man at 5300 block of Friars Rd., authorities said.

Around 10:40 a.m., San Diego police received a report of a robbery and assault with a deadly weapon in the 1000 block of Morena Blvd., according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Unit Lt. Mike Krugh.

According to the victim, a man in his 20s entered a store and picked out some merchandise, then asked the victim if they accepted credits cards.

The victim answered that they did and went behind the counter to ring up the sale when the suspect started walking out of the store without making an attempt to pay for the merchandise, Lt. Krugh said.

"The victim attempted to stop the suspect from leaving when the suspect pulled out a knife and threatened the victim. The suspect then fled the scene. San Diego police officers arrived on the scene and obtained a physical description of the suspect and broadcast that to officers in the surrounding areas," Lt. Krugh said.

Officers later spotted the suspect near 5300 Napa St. and tried to detain him. He appeared to have two knives on him and was noncooperative with officers' commands, Lt. Krugh said.

The suspect then started walking backwards. SDPD officers deployed a taser, which appeared to have no effect on the suspect, Lt. Krugh said.

Officers followed the suspect to a transient encampment in the 5300 block of Friars Road, which is where the suspect took another victim hostage and held a knife to his neck. Three officers fired at the suspect, hitting him at least one time, according to Lt. Krugh. At the time, three officers were on scene, Lt. Krugh added.

Officers immediately began life-saving measures on the suspect until paramedics arrived, but the suspect died at the scene.

The victim of the knife assault was not injured in the incident, Krugh said. No officers were injured during the confrontation.

The involved officers have been employed by the SDPD for 12, one and a half and six and a half years. Two of them are patrol officers with the Western Division, and the third one is with the SDPD's Neighborhood Policing Team, according to Krugh.

Police shut down traffic lanes in the area to allow for an investigation of the incident.

Last night and this morning, SDPD officers were involved in two officer-involved shootings.  

The first incident happened around 11 p.m. Sunday at the 47th Street Trolley Station.  

The second incident occurred around 10:30 a.m. on Monday near pic.twitter.com/hVXntkWYW3

— San Diego Police Department (@SanDiegoPD) May 20, 2024

The investigation

The shooting by a San Diego Police Department officer was the second on Monday morning. Earlier in the day, a man who took off from his ex-girlfriend's home with a baby girl late Sunday was later shot by San Diego police near an MTS trolley stop in Chollas View, investigators said Monday.

In accordance with the San Diego County Memorandum of Understanding, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department will be taking the lead on the third-party investigation into the shootings. That report will then be reviewed by the District Attorney's Office.

The FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office will also be monitoring the investigation, according to SDPD.

SDPD's Internal Affairs Unit will review the shootings, looking for any policy violations.

San Diego police is aiming to release body-worn camera videos to the community within seven to 10 business days.

Domestic violence suspect was holding baby when SDPD officer shot him in Chollas Creek: Deputies

Check back here for updates on this breaking news story — Ed.