ESCONDIDO, Calif. (KGTV) — Escondido police fired several shots at a man who they say had a knife and "ran at officers" multiple times at a busy intersection Wednesday afternoon.
The Escondido Police Department said officers received multiple calls reporting a man with a knife screaming and jumping in front of cars in the area of West Felicita Avenue and South Centre City Parkway. Those calls came in around 12:10 p.m.
Lt. Chris Tivanian, a member of San Diego Police Department Homicide Unit, which is leading the investigation, said the incident ended about a half-mile from where officers were first dispatched, at the intersection of 13th Avenue and South Centre City Parkway.
He told ABC 10News an Escondido PD detective, who was in plain clothes, approached the man in the intersection, and the man charged at the detective while holding the knife.
In response, Lt. Tivanian said Escondido police officers fired their handguns at the man. In a video of the incident, provided by OnScene.TV but edited because of its graphic nature, you can see the man fall to the ground. The video has been embedded below. A warning — some viewers might find it disturbing.
Then you can see him get back up, with his knife still in hand. Lt. Tivanian said the man then charged at uniformed officers.
Lt. Tivanian said multiple officers fired a second round of shots. ABC 10News counted at least a dozen combined in both volleys of gunfire.
In the video, you see the man get up once more. Lt. Tivanian said police gave repeated orders for the man to drop his knife, but he refused.
Lt. Tivanian said officers then switched to shooting rubber bullets, firing off four to five rounds.
“One of those rounds actually kncocked the knife out of the suspect’s hands, which gave the officers the opportunity to approach him, take him into custody and get him medical treatment," Lt. Tivanian said.
Police said the man was taken to Palomar Hospital for treatment of his injuries. Police said he was in surgery and expected to survive.
Tyler Batson, a public information officer for the Escondido Fire Department, told 10News earlier in the afternoon that no officers were injured in this shooting. Lt. Tivanian added no one else at the scene suffered injuries.
He spoke to the difficult decision for officers to take action and fire their weapons with innocent bystanders stopped at the busy intersection when the incident unfolded.
“They do consider their backstop and what’s beyond that," Lt. Tivanian said. "They’re responsible for every round that they fire. All of that goes into the split-second decision making processes.”
He continued to say, "considering what could’ve been, I think the officers did an outstanding job.”
Police have yet to identify the man involved, but a woman who lives nearby told ABC 10News he is known in the area to be homeless.
Police could not confirm whether the man was under the influence or having a mental health episode, but did say that will be determined during the course of the ongoing investigation.
He has been arrested and accused of attempted murder.
Sky 10 flew above the scene — you can see a replay of the live feed below:
This is a developing story. ABC 10News has sent a crew to the area to gather more information.
