San Diego Officer Kills Motorist Thought to Be Pointing a Gun

An officer-involved shooting left a man dead and snarled traffic in the center of Mission Bay Park Saturday.

The incident was reported about 9:15 a.m. near the interchange of West Mission Bay Drive and Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, about a half mile west of the main Sea World parking lot entrance, according to San Diego police.

One person was taken to UC San Diego Medical Center with life- threatening injuries, a San Diego Fire-Rescue Department dispatcher said. He later died, San Diego television stations NBC7 and 10News reported.

Police tape surrounded the crime scene near Quivira Basin, north of the San Diego River, where Sea World Drive changes into Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, Sgt. Frank Cali said.

Items from a sedan with shot-out windows were scattered in the northbound roadway. NBC7 reported that San Diego police had been following a vehicle across the San Diego River bridge following a report of an armed man in Ocean Beach.

An officer thought he saw the man exiting the sedan with a gun, and fired in self-defense, according to police interviewed by NBC7. Traffic heading between Ocean Beach and Mission Bay Park was blocked, with northbound traffic being diverted east onto Interstate 8.

Traffic heading towards Ocean Beach was diverted onto Sports Arena Boulevard. The interchange where West Mission Bay Drive, Ingraham Street, Sea World Drive, Sports Arena Boulevard and Sunset Cliffs Boulevard was heavily congested.

But patrons were able to access the Sea World parking lots from Sea World Drive, police said.

– City News Service