At least one person was wounded in what police believe was a gun fight in Mission Hills early Saturday morning, San Diego Police Department officials confirmed.
According to SDPD Lt. Paul Rorrison, approximately one dozen shots were fired in the 2000 block of Hancock Street near Noell Street at around 2 a.m.
Lt. Rorrison says police officers located several shell casings of various calibers in the area.
A male victim later showed up at the Naval Hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest linked to the gunfire exchange in Mission Hills, police said.
Based on witness statements and the high number of shell casings found at the scene, Lt. Rorrison believes the shooting involved multiple suspects who got into an altercation near a bar or nightclub.
“There was possibly a gunfight between two people or a group of people,” said Lt. Rorrison. “We know from witness statements there were several people at the intersection. Basically, two groups of males as they were leaving a club area on Hancock.”
The victim with the chest wound is expected to survive, Lt. Rorrison said.
He also said at least one person fled the scene following the shooting in a white PT Cruiser that was last seen traveling on Noell Street. SDPD officials say the vehicle was later found near the San Diego Zoo parking lot, riddled with bullet holes.
The motive for the shootout is unclear, and officials are still investigating.
They’re asking anyone with information to contact the SDPD.
A 20-year-old motorcyclist and his passenger were injured in a collision with a truck Friday night in the Talmadge area, the San Diego Police Department said.
The crash happened just after 10 p.m. near the entrance to a gas station on El Cajon Boulevard, near Altadena Avenue.
Police say the motorcyclist and his 21-year-old passenger were riding past a 76 gas station when they were struck by a driver in a Dodge truck that was making a left turn into the gas station lot.
The driver of the motorcycle sustained life-threatening head, chest and leg injuries in the collision. His passenger suffered a broken wrist. They were both transported to a local hospital.
The motorcyclist’s current condition is unknown.
The driver of the truck, a 28-year-old man, was not injured. Police say alcohol was not a factor in the accident.
A special military concert series sponsored by comic book legend Stan Lee kicked off in San Diego Friday night with hundreds of military service members in attendance.
The concert, featuring the rising country band Gloriana, was held at the Pacific View Events Center at Camp Pendleton as part of “Stan Lee’s Power Concerts” series, which is aimed to honor the superheroes of the Armed Forces and their families by bringing live entertainment to the homefront.
The all-ages show began at 7 p.m. and was also open the general public. Military members were given a special rate on admission tickets.
Close to 300 people bought tickets to Friday’s concert at Camp Pendleton. Inside, attendees got to watch Gloriana perform and got a chance to meet renowned comic book creator Lee.
The entertaining night was a hit with service members.
“When things like this happen and people try and give back, it does feel good because it’s motivation to keep going,” Lance Cpl. Wade Bartels with the U.S. Marine Corps told NBC 7.
According to the “Stan Lee’s Power Concerts” website, that exactly what the concerts are designed to do: show “profound appreciation for our troops and their families.”
Gloriana – fresh off a performance on “The Tonight Show” – greeted fans backstage before the show, while Lee held a special meet-and-greet.
Paul Stamas, an avid, 11-year-old fan of Lee, said he was extremely nervous and excited to meet his idol. Stamas’ Marine sergeant uncle got him tickets to Friday’s event.
“My knees are shaking right now and I have butterflies in my stomach,” the boy said as he approached Lee, asking him to sign a comic book.
Lee joked with Stamas and signed the book.
At 90 years old, Lee hasn’t lost his spunk and sense of humor.
More importantly, he hasn’t lost his strong admiration of the U.S. military.
“All my life, I’ve created fictional super heroes. These [military] guys are the real super heroes!” Lee told NBC 7.
Lee said he began developing this concert series for the troops last year. His company, POW! Entertainment will host events at military bases, with proceeds going back to military charities like the Wounded Warriors.
For Lee, giving back to the military is incredibly important.
“Where would we be without them? They give up so much to do what they're doing and so often they're just taken for granted,” he added.
Lee’s concerts will continue throughout different bases in the U.S. The rest of the lineup hasn’t been announce just yet, but for more information, visit this website.
An outage left thousands of residents in La Jolla and Pacific Beach without power Saturday afternoon, San Diego Gas & Electric confirmed.
The power outage struck around 4:19 p.m., initially impacting approximately 3,600 customers in La Jolla, La Jolla Shores, Soledad Mountain, Mission Bay and Pacific Beach, according to SDG&E.
By 5:05 p.m., approximately 370 customers remained without power in the Mission Bay and Pacific Beach areas. By 5:30 p.m., that number wittled down to approximately 200.
The cause of the power outage is under investigation. SDG&E says a "number of combined factors" caused some sort of problem in the electric system.
As of right now, officials estimate that power will be fully restored to the impacted communities by 7 p.m.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
The city of Chicago will reportedly pay a $55,000 settlement to a woman who claimed she was shocked with a stun gun while eight months pregnant, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Tiffany Rent, 31, filed suit against the city after she was shocked with a stun gun by a police officer in front of her two young children in June.
Rent said she pulled into a handicapped parking spot in the Walgreen's lot on the 110 block of South Michigan Avenue while her fiance ran into the store. She then got out of the car to re-seat her 3-year-old when a Chicago police officer began writing her a ticket.
Police said she tore up the ticket and threw it at the officer. When the officer asked her for identification, police said she refused to comply.
Police said the officer deployed his stun gun when Rent tried to put her car in gear and drive away.
"I don't think that it should have went this far," she said. "It just makes me afraid of the Chicago Police Department because there's other women that may have went through this or that's going through this."
Attorney Keenan Saulter further argued a parking ticket is not a reason to use a stun gun.
"A parking ticket," he said. "Not even a moving violation, but a parking ticket should not involve someone pulling out a Taser."
The accused officers claimed they did not know Rent was pregnant, but the officer who deployed the stun gun is under review.
Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said stun guns should be used when overcoming assault or preventing escape and “you can’t always tell if somebody’s pregnant.”
Rent gave birth in July to a baby boy named Joseph.
A rare 1909 baseball card depicting American Major League Baseball shortstop Honus Wagner, nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman," sold for more than $2.1 million at auction, according to The Associated Press.
The card, originally released by the American Tobacco Co., was sold for $2,105,770.50 in an online sale, Goldin Auctions said.
The card was the highlight of Goldin Auctions' April 5th showcase, The New York Post reported. Other memorabilia sold included a copy of Alex Rodriguez's 2009 World Series ring ($50,398) and a signed Derek Jeter 2001 World Series game-used bat ($37,486).
Wagner's cards were taken out of packaging. Rumor has it that Wagner didn't want his card to be included with cigarettes, believing it would encourage kids to smoke, accordin to The New York Post.
However, Wagner's card attracted attention, with only 50 to 100 copies believed to exist, The New York Post reported. The card was described as the "Jumbo" Wagner because its edges are 1/16 inches bigger than standard cards.
While the company claimed the price was a record for a baseball card sold at auction, a comparable Wagner card in mint condition was bought for $2.8 million in a private sale in 2007, according to AP.
Police say a man bled to death outside a New York City restaurant after he fell on a broken bottle during an argument early Saturday.
Witnesses tell police two men were involved in a dispute inside an eatery in Brooklyn and got into an altercation outside around 4 a.m.
When officers arrived, they found one of the men bleeding from a cut on his arm.
He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
The victim was in his 20s. His identity wasn't immediately released.
Thousands of people took to the street of Miami on Saturday to demand comprehensive immigration reform.
The Miami rally, one of many staged around the country Saturday, came days before lawmakers in Washington are expected to reveal a bipartisan immigration bill.
VIDEO: Potential Breakthrough in Immigration
Local demonstrators demanding changes wanted to send a loud, clear message to Congress.
"There so many people out there who have so many needs and so many challenges,” marcher Andrea Rodriguez said. “A simple thing like having a driver’s license or having a Social Security number prohibits them from just doing the best they can in this country.”
More than 11 million people in the U.S. are undocumented, but want to work here legally without having to wait decades to become citizens, advocates say.
UM Law Students Help Undocumented Youths With Status
The marchers were joined by local community leaders including Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado and Archbishop Thomas Wenski.
"Most of these people here are my parishioners, and so I’m happy to stand in solidarity with them,” Wenski said. “But right now we have a moment of opportunity to gain immigration reform, and this rally is important so that Congress is reminded that we need a reform, but we need the reform to be a just one.”
Miami Mayor Regalado Gives State of City Address
Regalado said he believes that the Census didn’t count many Miami residents because they were afraid.
“These residents, if they can get to be permanent residents or citizens, they can take better jobs, they can buy houses, they can contribute more,” he said.
Groups from all over the country, including people who took part in Saturday’s Miami rally, plan to march in the nation’s capital Wednesday.
More Local Stories:
There's no question that our service members make sacrifices to serve in the military, but it takes a lot of sacrifice to be a military spouse too.
For one, military spouses often have to put their service member’s job ahead of their own.
Now, a San Diego legislator is trying to ease the burden when it comes to military spouses finding employment.
There are over 70,000 military spouses in the state of California, and nationwide more than a quarter are unemployed.
This is partly because they have to move as frequently as every two years, and many fields require professional licenses, usually state certifications.
Those professional licenses don't immediately transfer from state to state, such as those who work in nursing, cosmetology, and a number of other vocations.
In California, active duty military spouses are eligible to get expedited licenses if they already have one in another state.
However, that process can take months and may require additional coursework and exams.
Assemblyman Brian Maienschein is working to ease this burden on military spouses with legislation that would allow 18 month provisional licenses while they work through the California licensing process.
His bill, AB 186, covers every profession that requires a license except teachers and lawyers. Those are more specialized when it comes to differences in practicing from state to state.
The legislation could impact military spouses like Vida Donnette, a Pacific Beach resident who’s currently trying to find a job.
Donnette is a registered nurse. Though her field has many openings, a year and a half ago she became a Navy wife and followed her husband from her home in New York to San Diego, leaving her license in New York.
“It’s just an endless sacrifice, and at the same time we tend to lose our self-identity along the way,” said Donnette.
Due to the time it takes to get an expedited license in California, Donnette says she’s now considering drastic measures, just so she can lock down some work.
"I'm considering the fact of just moving back to New York and stay there and have a long distance relationship with my husband," she said.
Donnette is hopeful for this new legislation for military spouses and says it would do more than just help her become employed – it would also empower her.
“I can start working again and I could be able to do what I love to do and be passionate about it,” she added.
Two San Diego State University students were robbed at gunpoint on campus early Saturday morning, campus police confirmed.
The robbery happened on Cuicacalli Walk at around 2 a.m.
SDSU police say two students were approached by two unknown men who allegedly pointed handguns at the students and demanded their property.
The suspects allegedly stole a cell phone, wallets, ATM cards and a backpack from the victims. The students were not injured.
SDSU police say the suspects were last seen running toward College Avenue.
The first suspect is described as a black male in his late 20s, approximately 6-foot-2, with a tall, athletic build. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with red “SDSU” lettering on the front.
The second suspect is described as a black male in his late 20s, approximately 6-foot-3, with a tall, thin build and thick eyebrows. He was wearing a black beanie knit cap.
Campus police want to remind students to be aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious activity to authorities.
Anyone with information on this robbery is asked to contact the SDSU Police Department at (619) 594-1991.
Last September, two suspects were arrested after allegedly beating and robbing an SDSU student outside a parking structure on campus. Also that month, three suspects allegedly robbed an SDSU student in a bathroom at the Love Library on campus.
High winds are expected to sweep San Diego County over the next couple of days, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
The NWS says a high wind warning is in effect from 6 p.m. Sunday through 9 p.m. Monday.
During this time, areas of west winds are expected to reach 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 60 or 70 mph, according to the NWS.
Winds will gradually increase Sunday night, with the strongest winds expected Monday afternoon and early evening.
The NWS says the gusts will mostly sweep through mountain ridge tops, desert mountain slopes and adjacent desert areas.
As a result, visibility in local deserts may be reduced to a half-mile, with winds kicking up sand and dust.
The NWS reminds motorists to drive cautiously in these high wind conditions and be on the lookout for possible broken tree limbs or debris on roadways.
For the latest updates on weather, click here.
A 50-year-old man who was assaulted with a large piece of cement in Balboa Park last week has died from his injuries, the San Diego Police Department confirmed.
The victim, whose name has not yet been released, was assaulted near the intersection of 6th Avenue and Cedar Street on Mar. 31 at around 3:30 a.m., according to police.
Investigators say an unknown suspect threw a large piece of cement at the victim, critically injuring him., and then fled the scene. The victim was hospitalized, but died from his injuries Saturday afternoon.
Officials say an autopsy will be performed on the victim, which will determine his exact cause of death.
Detectives have not yet found the suspect responsible for the deadly assault. The suspect, believed to be a transient, is described as a 6-foot-tall white male adult.
Investigators say the victim was living in the open space north of Interstate 5 and the northbound off-ramp to 6th Avenue at the time of the incident. It is unclear if the suspect lived nearby or if the pair knew each other. A motive for the assault has not yet been determined, officials said.
Detectives are in the process of locating witnesses and gathering information. Anyone with information on this case is urged to contact the SDPD homicide unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
A 32-year-old man was shot to death in Mount Hope early Saturday morning, San Diego Police Department officials confirmed.
At around 5 a.m., officers received reports of a gunshot victim in the 600 block of Denby Street.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found a man lying on the sidewalk, suffering from a gunshot wound.
Medics attempted to treat the man, but he died at the scene, police said.
The Medical Examiner’s office has now identified the shooting victim as San Ysidro resident Meashal Fairley.
Homicide investigators say Fairley was on the east sidewalk of Denby Street when he was shot.
Witnesses told investigators they saw a dark colored vehicle leaving the area before they discovered the man lying on the sidewalk.
On Saturday evening, police released a photograph of a vehicle similar to the one that was said to have fled the scene (pictured below). Detectives describe the suspect vehicle as a black Dodge Magnum with black rims.
The suspect or suspects responsible for this deadly shooting remain at large. Possible suspect descriptions were not immediately available.
Investigators have yet to determine a motive for the shooting. They are processing evidence found in Mount Hope and interviewing witnesses.
Anyone with information on this vehicle or shooting is asked to call the SDPD homicide unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
When Nicholas Cendoya told his mom he wanted to return next week to the same hiking trail that he and a friend got lost on for four days, prompting a massive search and rescue operation, she had four words for him.
"Over my dead body," Nubia Cendoya said.
She spoke as she and her 19-year-old got ready to leave the hospital on Sunday where he was treated for a concussion, dehydration and cuts since Wednesday night.
Nicholas Cendoya said that he ate and sucked plants to survive and was very much looking forward to going home.
"I'm excited for my first home-cooked meal," he said.
Cendoya and his friend Kyndall Jack got lost during an Easter Hike in the rugged Trabuco Canyon area of the Cleveland National Forest. Cendoya was rescued on Wednesday night. Jack was rescued the next day. She remains hospitalized as does a deputy who fell 60 feet during a rescue attempt.
Cendoya said he was in and out of consciousness during the ordeal.
"The last thing I could tell you was going into a lucid dream," he said during a press conference outside the Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo in Sunday. "I can't even tell you when I woke up. I was in lucid dreams and hallucinations for days.
"I could see the helicopters flying over me every day. When the firefighters came up to me, I couldn't even believe it. We weren't meant to die."
Jack, who was rescued a day after Cendoya and was sent to a different hospital than Cendoya, sent a message to her hiking companion, thanking him for helping both of them survive.
A man accidentally shot himself outside a mall in El Cajon late Saturday night, police confirmed.
According to Sgt. Kevin Maxwell of the El Cajon Police Department, the incident happened just after midnight outside the Westfield Parkway Plaza shopping mall on Fletcher Parkway.
Sgt. Maxwell says a man in his early 20s was in a parked car outside the mall’s Bob's Big Boy Restaurant with at least two friends when he began messing with a handgun and accidentally shot himself in the hand and leg.
Sgt. Maxwell says the bullet went through the man’s left hand and then struck his leg, leaving large amounts of blood in the vehicle. The man was in the backseat when police arrived at the scene.
Officials believe the man didn’t realize there was a bullet in the chamber of his weapon.
Sgt. Maxwell says officers recovered the gun, as well as two full magazines inside the car. Alcohol was also found inside the vehicle, though police could not confirm whether alcohol played a role in the accidental shooting.
The man was taken to a local hospital for treatment. His name was not released.
Sgt. Maxwell says the man did not have permits to carry a gun in public. As a result, he could face charges of carrying a concealed weapon, pending the ECPD’s investigation.
