On Thursday night, two San Diego policemen were shot, one killed and another wounded, when they made a routine police stop.
San Diego Police Chief Shirley Zimmerman stated:
I am extremely heartbroken to report that we had an officer shot and killed tonight; a second officer has been shot and is currently in surgery. We are hopeful that the officer will survive and make a full recovery. This is what I can tell you to this point: we had two officers put out shortly before 11:00, making a stop. Almost immediately, very shortly after they put out that they were making a stop, they called for emergency cover. Other officers were in the area; they arrived shortly, on scene, and found both of our officers suffering from gunshot wounds. One of the officers was placed in a vehicle of another officer who arrived at the scene and taken to the hospital, Heroic efforts by the officers on scene; heroic efforts by the doctors to save his life, but again, heartbroken to report that they were unable to save his life and he is deceased. The other officer was transported by medics to a another local hospital where he is currently in surgery. The scene is still active; we do have a suspect in custody.
Zimmerman added that the suspect was a male Hispanic with a gunshot wound who was being treated at a local hospital.
At roughly 4 a.m. Friday morning, the San Diego police tweeted that the wounded officer would survive:
NBC News reported that both officers had been shot in the upper torso. The deceased officer was a husband and father of two. Sources told NBC News that the suspect might be a local gang member.
On Friday morning, according to the San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego police surrounded a house in Shelltown, half a mile from the shooting, calling for a suspect named “Marcos” to surrender. The officers repeatedly fired smoke or gas bombs into the home; an armored SWAT vehicle was parked in the driveway.
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer tweeted, “Violence against the men and women who wear the badge is violence against us all.”