SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The fatal shooting of a person by at least one sheriff's deputy in eastern San Diego County was under investigation today.
The deadly gunfire took place at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, when a person pointed a replica handgun at deputies who were responding to a request for a welfare check in the 1700 block Kyrsten Terrace in Alpine, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office. No deputies were injured, Lt. Sean Gallagher said.
The identity of the deceased person was not released. The lieutenant said he could release no further information about the circumstances of the shooting because investigations in the case had been assumed by state Attorney General Rob Bonta's office.
A 2020 state law, Assembly Bill 1506, requires the California Department of Justice to investigate law enforcement shootings resulting in the deaths of unarmed people in the state.
Under the statute, ``armed'' means being in possession of a deadly weapon, according to the DOJ. Replica firearms do not fall into that category unless they are used in a manner likely to produce death or great bodily injury -- for example, as a bludgeon.
A statement from Bonta's office said state officials also could release no further information about the incident. ``Upon completion of the investigation, it will be turned over to DOJ's Special Prosecutions Section within the Criminal Law Division for independent review,'' the statement noted.
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