A SWAT situation ended with a suspect being fatally shot in San Diego’s Bay Terraces area on Friday afternoon.
San Diego Police Department Lt. Kevin Mayer said a search for a robbery suspect began around 11:35 a.m. at an Arco gas station located at 495 Meadowbrook. An armed man in his 40s entered the gas station and robbed it, firing one round from a sawed off rifle or shotgun into the ceiling in front of two female employees.
After the robbery, Lt. Mayer said the suspect fled the gas station in a 2005 Suzuki, which was stolen. He then crashed the stolen vehicle on Paradise Valley Road, near Parkwood, and then tried to set the vehicle on fire.
A message on social media from the fire department said a gas can and Molotov cocktails were believed to be inside the vehicle.
The suspect then fled that scene, and went to the 7300 block of Woodridge Street, where an officer spotted the man going into a home in the area.
Officers set up a perimeter around the home.
Once inside the home, the suspect shot a resident in the foot, Lt. Mayer said. The injured resident came out of the home and told police they had been shot.
The suspect then fled that scene and made his way over to another house in the 7400 block of Gatewood Lane.
Lt. Mayer said the resident of that home told police the suspect had knocked on his/her door and said he needed clothes because “he had just robbed a place.” The resident gave the man a gray long-sleeve shirt.
Officers set up a perimeter around the area and searched for the robbery suspect, described as a Hispanic man in his 40s with a dark complexion, wearing a baseball cap, brown shirt and jeans. Police considered the man armed and dangerous.
The suspect managed to evade police once again and entered a third home in the area. This time, a woman was inside and was forced to escape by crawling out of the window.
Shortly thereafter, police officers spotted the suspect and shot him. He died at the scene, officials confirmed.
While all of this was happening, two schools in the area -- Daniel Boone Elementary and Bell Middle School -- were placed on lockdown. The lockdown was lifted at approximately 2:15 p.m., school officials confirmed.
The name of the suspect fatally shot by police has not yet been released. SWAT teams assisted in Friday’s search for the armed man, adding to the heavy law enforcement presence in Bay Terraces.
The investigation is ongoing. Check back for updates on this developing story.
Photo Credit: Spencer Thornburg