San Diego cop injured, three killed in shootings in Little Italy and downtown

A Port of San Diego police officer was shot during a shootout in Little Italy with a person suspected in a fatal shooting that occurred downtown about an hour earlier on Wednesday.

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said officers responded to a reported shooting that left a man and a woman dead around 8:20 a.m. local time on Wednesday. Officers then started looking for the suspected shooter.

According to SDPD Captain Manny Del Toro, the shooter was a man wearing a green shirt and blue jeans, and that description was sent to police across the city. Police assume the shooter knew the man and woman.

According to Wahl, Port Police officers — who assisted in the search — spotted a person believed to be the suspected shooter in the Union Street shooting at Juniper Street and Kettner Boulevard in San Diego’s Little Italy about 45 minutes later.

Officers encountered someone wearing tactical pants and boots and, according to Del Toro, behaving “blatantly and aggressively.” The man had knives and was armed with a firearm, police said.

During a confrontation, an exchange of gunfire occurred, during which a Port Police officer was shot in the hip and the suspect was struck by police gunfire. SDPD officials said three officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect and multiple shots were fired at the officers.

Del Toro said it was unclear whether the suspect or the officers fired first.

The injured officer was taken to UC San Diego Medical Center, and while Wahl said he believed the officer would recover, he said their condition was not immediately known.

“I would like to tell everyone to keep this police officer in your thoughts and prayers; this is a very dangerous job we do and today means that.” – SDPD Chief Scott Wahl

Wahl said during a news conference that the suspect was also taken to a hospital. Officials confirmed to Scripps News San Diego that the suspect died in hospital. They describe him as a man in his twenties.

‘This could have been a lot worse. I must commend the Port Police officers for their response and the way they approached the suspect. This is Little Italy; we have people walking in the streets, coffee shops…their The ability to run towards gunfire and courageously tackle this person, I think, has saved lives,” Wahl said.

A motive for the Union Street shooting is being investigated by SDPD homicide detectives. The identities of all the victims were not immediately released.

According to the investigation, certain roads were closed and police asked the public to avoid several areas for several hours.

This story was first published by Scripps News San Diego.