ESCONDIDO, Calif. (KGTV) – A man believed to be armed was shot and wounded by an Escondido police officer during a confrontation outside of a residence early Tuesday morning.
Escondido Police Department officials said officers were called to a halfway house near Grand Avenue and Elm Street at around 2 a.m. due to concerns over the welfare of a male resident in the home.
According to police, the resident was in possession of a knife and reportedly harmed himself before he barricaded himself inside a bathroom as responding officers evacuated the other residents.
Police negotiated with the man for about an hour before leaving the scene at roughly 3:30 a.m. to deescalate the situation.
The man eventually exited the bathroom and walked around the property; the property owner contacted police after observing the man leave the house.
A responding officer was in an alley when he was confronted by the man, who was carrying a stick at the time.
The officer instructed the man to step back and put the stick down, but the man charged ahead, prompting the officer to open fire multiple times, police said.
San Diego Police Department Lt. Lou Maggi said, "The officer gave additional command to drop the stick when the subject basically got close to the officer. The officer fired his duty weapon multiple times, striking the subject."
The man, believed to be in his 30s, was hospitalized and was listed in critical condition as of early Tuesday afternoon.
Police said the officer was not hurt in the incident.
ABC 10News learned SDPD's Homicide Unit is investigating the officer-involved shooting aspect of the incident.
