The San Diego Sheriff's Department is investigating a shooting in Spring Valley, the agency said. 

The incident happened at approximately 5:46 p.m. Wednesday on the 8700 block of Ildica Street. Deputies say they got to the scene, they found a man shot in the head. That man is now in critical condition and is undergoing surgery. 

The suspect was seen fleeing in a blue Honda Civic. 

Deputies are on scene investigating. At this point, they do not believe it is gang related. 

There are no further details at this time. 

Check back here for updates on this developing story. 

La Casa del Zorro in Borrego Springs has completed a $150,000 “solar farm,” the first of two projects totaling more than $3 million aimed at making the resort more energy-independent and eco-friendly.

Operators said the 10,000-square-foot solar panel project, completed during the past two months by San Diego-based Everyday Energy, will allow the resort to heat five of its largest guest swimming pools, maintaining a temperature between 80 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit at all times.

The solar panels also support the hot-water system for four of the resort’s five main lodging buildings, with support for the fifth building soon to come.

Operators have earmarked an additional $3 million for a photovoltaic system that will convert solar power into clean, renewal energy across the property. The solar-panel improvements follow prior conservation measures in 2013 that saved more than 600,000 gallons of water monthly through well reactivation and evaporation reduction.

The 42-acre, 67-room luxury resort, located adjacent to Anza Borrego State Park and with a history dating back to the 1930s, reopened in 2013 under new owners following an extensive renovation, after being closed for nearly three years.

The remote property includes 26 pools, a spa, tennis and bocce courts, and three on-site restaurants.

Classes at Clairemont High School were canceled Wednesday after a break-in on campus followed by a fire that officials believe was deliberately set in a chemistry lab.

Officials arrested a 16-year-old student in connection with the break-in and arson.

The commotion at the campus in Bay Park began around 4:30 a.m. after the school security alarm sounded, alerting police to a possible burglary.

When officers arrived, they found several windows had been broken and saw two people running away from the school. One young man was taken into custody in connection with the break-in.

Shortly after the burglary investigation began, the school’s fire alarm rang out, pointing officials to a small fire that had sparked in a custodial closet inside a chemistry room. Police said the fire started from some sort of spilled liquid.

Firefighters were able to knock out the blaze by 6:20 a.m. Hazmat officials were called to investigate the liquid linked to the fire, and to determine whether the campus was safe for students.

A battalion chief said the blaze appeared to be set intentionally using that flammable liquid and some papers.

As of 7:40 a.m., school officials confirmed school would be canceled for the day so police and fire officials could finish their investigations.

Faculty planned to send a message to parents advising them on when and where to pick up their children from campus.

School usually begins at 7:30 a.m., so there were already several hundred students arriving on campus when classes were canceled. Those students were taken to the football field while parents waited for their release.

Parents who came back to get their student said that despite the disruptive events that unfolded, school staffers did a fine job of keeping students calm, safe and organized.

The second suspect seen running from the school had not been detained as of 11 a.m.

The Metro-Arson Strike Team (MAST) is still investigating. Meanwhile, the school district said classes will resume as normal tomorrow at Clairemont High School, but teachers will not be using the classroom that sustained fire damage.

No one doubts the Younkin's home on Fletcher Drive in La Mesa is impressive, particularly the backyard. It includes a waterslide, two waterfalls, bridges, a cabana and a man-made cave.

Stevie and Doug Younkin call it their "dream home," but some neighbors fear it will become more of a party house.

Those neighbors showed up to Tuesday's city council meeting where the Planning Commission recommended the Younkins be allowed to continue the development, as long as they brought the home up to city code and got rid of a chicken coop and shack on the property.

"Right now, we just want to come up to code without ruining the whole essence of the property," said owner Stevie Younkin.

The Younkin's bought the home with all the renovations already in place. The previous owner was behind them, but failed to go through any of the city's permitting processes.

The Younkin's were aware of this, but loved the home so much they still purchased it two years ago.

"I don't know if I'm comfortable with any of it," said neighbor Theresa Pyle.

She and her children came to the meeting in a last-ditch effort to appeal the process.

"None of it is permitted. We've had to stop and go, 'I think it really needs to be looked at," said Pyle.

Her son stood before city council members saying people standing in the cabana can see into his bedroom window. He's concerned about the possible party atmosphere the home may bring to the neighborhood.

Stevie Younkin says she and her husband have spent tens of thousands of dollars to get the development up to code.

After some discussion, city council members decided to deny Pyle's appeal and grant the Younkin's a special permit.

The new leader of the Roman Catholic Church Diocese in San Diego will be installed Wednesday. 

Robert W. McElroy, 61, will be installed at the 6th Bishop of San Diego during a Mass of Installation held at St. Therese of Carmel Church.

Elroy, formerly an auxiliary bishop in San Francisco, was appointed in March by the Vatican.

McElroy is described as a progressive due to some of his writings, which place abortion and same-sex marriage on par with economic and human rights issues. At his appointment announcement, he discussed championing immigration in the San Diego region, where minorities are now the majority. 

McElroy said he was "overjoyed" to be coming to San Diego.

“It’s just a splendid community of faith here,” he said. "The only disappointment I have is that it’s so beautiful here, I’m worried when I get to heaven it will be a disappointment.”

He said he's looking forward to shepherding a church in such an ethnically diverse community and wants his flock to be deeply rooted in the community.

“We as Catholics are not called to be outside culture," he said. "As Catholics, we believe we’re called to love our cluture with a transforming love.”

After McElroy spoke, he fielded questions from reporters. One reported asked him how he hoped to build trust in his congregation amid the scandal of recent history in the Catholic Church, namely the number of child sex abuse cases.

"We can never forget what we learned during this very painful time," McElroy said. "We have to take special steps to protect particularly minors."

He succeeds Bishop Cirilo Flores, who died Sept. 6 after suffering from a series of medical ailment at the age of 65.

A U.S. Marine helicopter made an emergency landing on a beach in north San Diego Wednesday after receiving a low oil pressure indicator, U.S. Marine Corps officials confirmed.

San Diego lifeguards reported that a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter had landed near Del Mar Shores Beach in Solana Beach, south of Fletcher Cove, at around 11:40 a.m.

Firefighters and Hazardous Materials crews were called to the scene to investigate the chopper for a possible fuel leak.

The large chopper could be seen disabled on the shoreline as officials and onlookers gathered.

Officials from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) tweeted that the chopper made the unexpected landing on the beach "due to a low-pressure indicator light in the aircraft."

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) also confirmed that the CH-53E Super Stallion with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 466 had executed the precautionary landing in Solana Beach.

"The aircraft was conducting routine training and the pilots landed the aircraft safely on Solana Beach with no injuries to personnel," MCAS Miramar officials said. "A Hazardous Material Team has been dispatched to clean up and assess the site."

Marine Corps officials said the aircraft would likely return to MCAS Miramar Wednesday afternoon.

Staff Sgt. Bobbie Curtis said the CH-53E is a “heavy-lift helicopter that has a large set of mission capabilities.”

“It can go from ship to shore, help us with all of our amphibious missions,” he added.

Curtis said the crew aboard the aircraft handled the landing well.

“These pilots are well-trained – so are the air crew members – so they know exactly what to do in a situation like this,” he said.

Encinitas Fire Department Battalion Chief John Blumeyer said the department was tipped off to the beachside chopper landing by several 911 calls and reports from lifeguards.

When firefighters arrived, they noticed the aircraft was leaking fluid, Blumeyer said. Crews quickly worked to clean up the fluid and prevent it from leaking into the ocean.

“There’s a little bit of a time crunch. The tide is supposed to shift here [soon]. We have plans for mitigating [the situation] if they can’t fly out the helicopter before the tide comes in,” the battalion chief added.

The sight of the enormous chopper landing on the beach was a huge surprise to residents and beachgoers, including Tyler Clarke.

Clarke told NBC 7 he was lying on the beach about 100 yards away from the landing site when he heard the helicopter coming down.

“I could hear the propeller blowing water out and oil was going everywhere,” Clarke recalled. “You could see oil and smoke coming out of the water and [the helicopter] just kept getting lower and lower, and then just landed.”

Clarke said watching the Marine chopper land on the shore was both intense and surreal.

“Not your normal day at the beach, that’s for sure,” he added.

A Solana Beach resident said she was sitting at her nearby home with her husband when they heard the helicopter coming onto the beach.

“I had no idea what was going on. It was incredibly loud and sort of frightening, to be honest,” she told NBC 7. “We were sitting in our house – we have big windows – and we literally saw the helicopter come down and land on this beach. I could’ve been walking my dog.”

A four-year-old boy who was taken by his father after a shooting in San Marcos was reunited with his mother several hours later. 

Sheriff's deputies said someone dropped off the boy at his house in San Marcos unharmed, after he had been taken from the scene of a shooting by his father. At the time, they said they believed he was at risk. 

The boy’s father, Zauren Hernandez, reportedly shot his brother-in-law twice just before 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in front of a home in the 200 block of Avenida De Suerte, according to a San Diego County Sheriff’s Department news bulletin.

The search for his father, Zaureen, continues. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's Department at (858) 565-5200. You can also call the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477.

Sheriff's officials said the shooting resulted after the men were fighting over a cigarette butt in the driveway.

Deputies said Hernandez then ran away, taking his son, Hugo Hernandez, with him.

An Amber Alert hasn't been issued because deputies have no information about any vehicle involved in the fleeing.

Responding deputies found Santos sitting in the driveway and he was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Sheriff's Department Spokeswoman Jan Caldwell said deputies believed the boy could be at risk.

"We have every reason to believe he is at risk because his father has a handgun and we don't know what he's capable of," she said.

Nearby Jolianne Elementary School was placed in lockdown temporarily "in an abundance of caution" as deputies searched for the father and son, Caldwell said. The lockdown was lifted a short time later.

The Fugitive Task Force was tasked with locating Hernandez and his son.

Zauren Hernandez is described as 30 years old, 5 feet 9 inches, between 170 and 190 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a dark-colored T-shirt and blue jeans.

His son, Hugo, is described as 4 feet 11 inches, between 70 and 80 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a gray T-shirt with green and dark stripes, green and black shorts and flip flops.

San Diego Padres played good defense and showed some pop when necessary on Wednesday night, defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2.

The win solidified winning the series by taking two of three games from Arizona.

The Padres were paced by Justin Upton, who went 3 for 4 with an RBI, including his third homerun of the season. In the bottom of the eighth, a solo shot sealed it for San Diego. Craig Kimbrel picked up his third save of the season by getting the final three outs in the top of the ninth.

San Diego starting pitcher Brandon Morrow was stellar on the bump scattering seven hits over seven innings while striking out five.

Padres will have the day off on Thursday before returning to the yard for their second road trip of the young season.

They will travel to Chicago to play the Cubs for a three game set, then off to play against National League west opponent the Colorado Rockies for a four game series.

The Friars are now 6-4 on the season, 5-2 at home.

A senior at Plano Senior High School with cystic fibrosis says she might not get the chance to walk with her friends during their graduation ceremony this year, and she hopes her school district will change course.

Victoria McKennon's genetic disorder has required her to miss a lot of school days. She said she will be one credit shy of meeting the graduation requirement by the end of the school year and feels that she is "being punished" by not being allowed to attend the North Texas school's graduation ceremony.

“My absences are excused,” said McKennon. “But they don't want me to walk the stage."

The Plano Independent School District sent NBC 5 the requirements that state students must complete at least 24 credits before graduating.

McKennon is planning on completing her last credit over the summer.

“I hope they understand that there needs to be a check in compassion,” said Victoria McKennon’s mom, Grace McKennon.

Victoria McKennon’s family is hoping the school district will allow her to at least walk with her classmates during the ceremony.

“I hope that they will change their mind,” she said. “I don't want special treatment. I don't want them to give me a diploma I haven't earned. I just want to walk the stage with my friends. That’s all I want.”
 

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he hasn’t decided whether he will run for president in 2016 but said if he does make a bid for the White House he’s going to “do it honestly” and “won’t give up” his identity.

Speaking exclusively with Matt Lauer in a New Hampshire ice cream parlor on NBC’s “Today,” Christie said he plans to make a decision about whether he will seek the Republican party’s nomination for president in the next couple of months.

“We’re still going through the really personal personal part of this decision,” Christie said. “You don’t want to rush this decision. You do that in the time that it takes.”

Though Christie hasn’t announced a campaign, he has spent several days in New Hampshire, which holds a presidential primary a week after the Iowa caucuses, holding town halls.

He said if he does run, he won’t change his boisterous personality to do it.

“If I decide I want to do this, I’m going to do it honestly, and I'm going to go at as hard as I can and try to win every day,” he said. “I will never give being who I am, because that's a thing that stays with you forever."

Christie was once considered a presidential frontrunner for the GOP, but his popularity waned in the wake of the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal. The governor was never implicated in the traffic-jamming political payback scheme, but he saw his popularity dissipate in the Garden State and across the country in the aftermath of the scandal.

“I don’t think anybody likes to have something like that happen on their watch,” Christie said. “There's no way that it doesn't affect you. In part because it happens and in part because of the incredible coverage it’s gotten.”

Christie added that he is comfortable with his approval ratings, which plummeted both in New Jersey and nationally after news broke about the politically-motivated lane closures. He said that, if he runs for office again, he’ll be comfortable not being a frontrunner.

"Poll numbers go up and go down based on your performance and I am far, far from finished with my career,” he told Lauer.

Though he didn’t announce a run for the Oval Office, Christie weighed in on presidential candidates from both parties.

He told Lauer he believed that the person sworn in to the nation’s highest elected office will be a former governor because that the country has had bad experiences with one-term senators as presidents – an apparent swipe at President Barack Obama, who was elected after one term in the U.S. Senate, and Sens. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul, all one-term Republican senators who have announced presidential campaigns.

“I will tell ya this, I think a governor is going to be our nominee,” he said. "I think our party and our country needs someone who has actually run something." 

A convicted violent sex offender has been arrested in connection with the rape of a woman inside the bathroom of a Manhattan sports bar over the weekend after he walked past the very same bar Wednesday morning and the owner recognized him, authorities say.

Rodney Stover, 48, was arrested on rape, sex assault and other charges in Saturday's attack at the Turnmill Bar on East 27th Street in Murray Hill, police said.

Turnmill bar owner Tom Lucas had been watching surveillance video from that night for hours when he stepped outside Wednesday morning and the suspect walked right past him, he told NBC 4 New York. He called police and followed Stover until officers arrived and cuffed him just blocks away. 

Stover was identified by the 23-year-old victim in a lineup. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney. When asked by reporters as he was led from the police station Wednesday if he committed the rape, he shook his head no but said nothing else. 

According to police, Stover was hiding in one of the stalls inside a women's restroom at the bar Saturday evening, and when a woman emerged from one of the other stalls, he pushed her back in, grabbed her by the throat and raped her. He then fled the bar.

The level-three sex offender spent decades in prison on convictions of a 1990 rape in Pittsburgh and a 1992 rape in Southampton on Long Island, according to authorities. He was released from prison just this year, then moved into the Bellevue men's homeless shelter in Murray Hill. 

"I don't know how people like that are still allowed to walk on the street," said neighbor Katie Aulcino. 

News of the arrest has brought relief to neighbors.

"It could have been me or my friends," said one woman. "No one expects it, it's scary." 

More than 100 prominent Catholics took out a full page ad in San Francisco's largest newspaper on Thursday asking Pope Francis to remove the city's archbishop, calling his moves "divisive" and counter to the group's desire for "respect and inclusion."

"Holy Father," the ad reads, "the City of Saint Francis deserves an Archbishop true to our values and to your teachings."

The list of signatories printed in the San Francisco Chronicle ad includes Tom Brady Sr., father of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady; former political consultant Clint Reilly and his wife, Janet; Brian Cahill, the retired executive director of Catholic Charities' former city commissioner; Boudin Bakery executive Lou Giraudo; and Charles Geschke, chairman of Adobe Systems and former head of the University of San Francisco Board of Trustees. There are physicians, doctors and professors who also signed on.

"This is not a group of fringe lunatics," Michael Kelly said Thursday at a news conference, saying that he and others who signed the open letter are the "bedrock of the community."

The group's open letter to the pope seeks to remove San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, criticizing the conservative-leaning Catholic leader for asking teachers to sign a morality clause that says contraception is a sin and that characterizes same-sex relationships as "gravely evil." The ad also cites disappointment that a pastor was chosen who bans girls from altar service and that elementary school children were given pamphlets to read about masturbation and abortion.

In a statement sent out Wednesday ahead of the ad, the diocese responded that the ad misrepresented the archbishop and his positions.

"The greatest misrepresentation of all is that the signers presume to speak for 'the Catholic Community of San Francisco,'" the statement said. "They do not."

The statement added that the archdiocese "has met with a broad range of stakeholders. Together, we have engaged in a constructive dialogue on all of the issues raised in this ad. We welcome the chance to continue that discussion."

But the people who signed the ad wrote that Cordileone "disregards advice from priests" and others, relying instead of a "tiny group of advisors" recruited from outside the San Francisco region. 

The Chronicle’s business department  would not tell the newspaper's columnists how much it cost, though Phil Matier and Andrew Ross said that full-page ads typically run in the tens of thousands of dollars.

NBC Bay Area's Bob Redell contributed to this report.

Oceanside Police say a child reported missing Wednesday was found unharmed.

The 12-year-old girl was last seen near the Oceanside Pier around 4:30 p.m.  Police say she was considered "at-risk."

On Thursday, police updated the information saying the child had been located by her father in a park in Oceanside.

A driver fleeing deputies crashed through a wall in front of a Long Beach home before crashing across the lawn, slamming into the side of the house and wedging the vehicle under a pickup parked in a driveway.

Jacqueline Hernandez, 21, lost control of the car near the intersection of East Ritchie Street and North Pioneer Boulevard around 1 a.m, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman said. The chase began after emergency services received a call about a traffic crash on the southbound 605 Freeway near Carson Street, and an LASD helicopter officer saw the driver's car speeding away from the scene.

A short pursuit took place, which ended when the driver's black Toyota Corolla crashed through a wall and finally came to rest after colliding with a pickup truck. The truck's owner Chris Lease heard sirens and a helicopter, then moments later heard the crash.

"A car was sitting underneath my truck and it pushed my truck into my grandma's car. (It) smashed the whole side of her car," Lease said.

The car left tire marks on the homeowner's front lawn and damaged a window.

Hernandez was hospitalized in stable condition. She was receiving treatment and was expected to be cited for driving under the inflence after being released from the hospital, authorities said.

Fort Worth police on Wednesday released on-officer body camera footage of two patrol officers rushing to save a family and dog inside a burning home.

The incident happened in the early morning hours of April 6 as officers were on routine patrol along the 4600 block of Hemphill Street.

“I saw this, what I thought was fog,” said Officer Aaron Cade. “And I was like, ‘This is some really thick fog.’”

That fog turned out to be smoke, and Cade, as well as Officer Johnny Lopez, soon realized there was a fire.

The body camera footage shows Cade kicking in the front door of the home, while telling the residents that they were Fort Worth police and that their home was on fire.

After the door is broken open, a man and woman rush out to safety. The officers and a woman then go back inside to get the family dog.

“The smoke was real thick, so you’re trying not to take deep breaths,” Lopez told NBC 5 about entering the burning building without the aid of an oxygen mask.

The fire started at an electrical box at the rear of the home.

As the three exited the home with the dog, the video shows smoke starting to build inside just as the first fire fighters arrive to the scene.

“I didn’t do anything any other officer wouldn’t do,” Cade said about their actions that night.

“We’re first responders. So we just have to get the job done,” Lopez added.

No one was hurt and Fort Worth Police congratulated the officers on Twitter for their efforts.

A search in two rooms at a motel in Vista led deputies to methamphetamine and other drug paraphernalia, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department confirmed.

According to deputies, members of the Vista Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving (COPPS) unit conducted a probation search at a Motel 6 located at 330 Mar Vista Dr. on Wednesday around 12:30 p.m.

During the operation officials seized 46 grams of meth along with digital scales, packaging material and $2,800 in cash from the rooms.

Deputies said occupants Betsy Thomas, 36, and Charles Patterson, 45, were arrested in the motel bust for possession for sales of a controlled substance. A third suspect, James Taylor, 47, was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and for being under the influence of a controlled substance.

All three suspects were booked into the Vista Detention Facility, the sheriff’s department confirmed.

The search was part of the department’s ongoing efforts to reduce crime and target prolific offenders in the Vista area.
 

Video from a nanny cam shows a babysitter beating a 3-year-old Connecticut girl and forcing her hands onto a hot stovetop, the "absolute fear and pain from the trauma" evident in the little girl's eyes as she screams in an effort to escape, according to an arrest report obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media Group earlier this week.

Lidia Quilligana, 31, was arrested March 27, the same day the child's mother came home from work and discovered her child had been burned. The nanny made an excuse for the second-degree burns and went home for the day. The mother took her daughter to a doctor, then reviewed footage from a new nanny cam and called authorities, who arrested Quilligana at her Danbury home.

Initial reports indicated the video had captured the nanny abusing the child, but details of the footage were not available until now. According to Hearst Connecticut Media Group, Danbury police officer Thomas Geanuracos wrote in an arrest report that the video shows the nanny "repeatedly" taking the child by the wrist and forcing the girl's hands onto "what appeared to be hot stove burners."

Geanuracos wrote he watched the sitter at one point jump on the child as she lay on the ground "and it appeared Quilligana applied all of her weight onto her and then pulled her pants and underwear down and spanked her," the Hearst Connecticut Media Group reported. Another time, he saw the nanny pick the child up by the throat with two hands and throw her to the ground, he wrote.

The officer also said the nanny cam appeared to show the sitter force-feeding the child something too hot to eat, causing her mouth to blister; when the child tried to avoid the scalding food, the nanny beat her, the report said. According to Hearst Connecticut Media Group, the video described in Geanuracos' report only accounts for part of the hidden camera footage.

A prosecutor said the child could be heard screaming as she tried to get away.

Quilligana has been in custody on a first-degree assault charge that carries a 20-year prison sentence. Bail was set at $1 million after a prosecutor who saw the video argued for an increase from the $100,000 that was initially set. She has not entered a plea and is due in court later this month. 

Hearst Connecticut Media Group said her lawyer, Jennifer Tunnard, was not available for comment Wednesday. She did not immediately return a call early Thursday.

A 45-year-old dental office manager has been arrested for allegedly performing procedures on unsuspecting, uninsured patients for a cash discount while the dentist was away, and purposely scheduling procedures for them when she knew the doctor would be out of the office.

Authorities said Valbona Yzeiraj, of White Plains, was arrested Thursday following a grand jury indictment earlier this month. The Albanian-born woman pleaded not guilty to charges of assault, unauthorized practice of a profession and reckless endangerment at her arraignment later in the day.

Prosecutors allege the woman acted as a dentist at Ultimate Dental Care of Riverdale in the Bronx, one of three offices within the practice, while the licensed dentist was on vacation or out of the office and offered patients procedures at a discount for cash payments.

Yzeiraj was employed as an office manager at the facility; she is not licensed to practice dentistry in the state of New York.

Authorities allege Yzeiraj performed complex procedures, including root canals, on patients. She also pulled teeth. The alleged fraud came to light when at least four patients complained about complications they suffered after being treated by her, officials say.

Yzeiraj was fired from Ultimate Dental Care when the company found out she had been posing as a dentist from late 2012 to summer 2013, prosecutors said.

She is also accused of stealing $20,000 from her employer.

Neither the company nor Yzeiraj's attorney have returned messages seeking comment on her arrest. 

Spending too much time playing “Candy Crush Saga” really can have consequences, according to a new case report on a San Diego man who injured his thumb after many weeks of playing the puzzle game on his smartphone.

Dr. Andrew Doan, head of addictions research at Naval Medical Center San Diego, co-authored the case report, “Tendon Rupture Associated with Excessive Smartphone Gaming,” published this week in the JAMA Internal Medicine medical journal.

According to the report, a 29-year-old San Diego man played “Candy Crush Saga” on his smartphone all day for six to eight weeks. As a result, he suffered chronic left thumb pain and loss of active motion.

“He played with his left hand while using his right hand for other tasks, stating that ‘playing was kind of a secondary thing, but it was constantly on,’” the report said.

When doctors examined him and performed a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of his thumb, they found he had ruptured the tendon. He had to undergo surgery to repair the damage, Doan said.

According to the report, the patient claimed he felt no pain while playing the video game, and only noticed the injury many weeks later.

Doan told NBC 7 research shows video gaming can cause the release of hormones in the body that help reduce pain perception. That means one could sustain an injury from repeated smartphone use, but not necessarily notice the pain right away.

“Are we experiencing physical injury now because we’re not experiencing pain?” he said. “This case illustrates what we believe video gaming can do.”

Doan said video games are a type of “digital painkiller” with both negative and positive effects on health.

He said clinically, video games can be used to help children undergoing painful medical procedures, including pediatric patients during burn treatments.

The visual distraction and “natural painkiller” effect could help a patient feel less pain, Dr. Doan said. In some cases, Dr. Doan said video games could be used in place of medication.

Though video gaming could aid in a patient’s recovery, the doctor noted it’s important not to overuse video games or smartphones.

Citing a study by Andrew K. Przybylski, PhD, titled “Electronic Gaming and Psychosocial Adjustment,” Doan said one hour or less per day of video gaming could be beneficial for the psychological adjustment of children between 10 and 15 years old.

Three hours or more, however, could have negative effects on children, according to that study.

“The key is moderation here,” Doan told NBC 7.

He said monitoring overuse of video games is important in both adults and children, but because children are still developing, it’s especially crucial to watch their use.

“When a young child spends too much time in Internet faming on Internet activities, there can be significant problems,” said Doan. “The child needs time, boundaries, and intensive face-to-face attention to program the other areas of the brain that have been neglected.”

In the case of this adult patient, Doan said the man was not diagnosed with an addiction to “Candy Crush,” rather he just played the game as a way to pass the time after leaving the military and being between jobs. He  said this was one of the strangest cases he's seen in his research career.