Anaheim police fatally shoot man at 7-Eleven

Anaheim police shot and killed a man after a traffic stop in a 7-Eleven parking lot early today, authorities said. The incident began when an Anaheim police sergeant pulled over a 43-year-old man driving a light blue sedan at 12:13 a.m., said Sgt. Rick Martinez, a spokesman for the Anaheim Police Department.

After pulling over the man, the sergeant called for backup at the intersection of Brookhurst Street and Orange Avenue, Martinez said. A patrol officer responded to the sergeant's call, and at 12:25 a.m. police dispatchers received calls about an officer-involved shooting, he said.

What happened between 12:13 a.m., when the man was pulled over, and 12:25 a.m., when the shooting was reported by the officers, is unclear, Martinez said. But both officers fired their weapons at the man, he said.

“What caused them to fire their guns? We don’t know,” Martinez said. “But we believe both officers fired their guns.”

Paramedics found the Anaheim man, wounded by multiple gunshots, collapsed in the middle of Brookhurst Street, he said. The man, whose name was not released, was taken to UC Irvine Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, Martinez said.

Paramedics found a “suspicious” police-style belt underneath the man’s jeans and  jacket, he said. Details on why the man was pulled over weren’t released today. A handgun was found in the man’s car, police said, but investigators aren’t sure whether the man fired back or how many shots were fired.

By midmorning a tow truck came to remove the man’s car and the police cruisers the officers were driving. Onlookers viewed the cars in a nearby strip mall parking lot. The man's sedan bore bullet holes and several shot-out windows. A back window was shot out of one of the police cars.

The 7-Eleven was open at the time, and investigators plan on interviewing several potential witnesses, Martinez said. Police will be viewing the surveillance tape from the convenience store to help figure out what happened, he said.

The Orange County district attorney’s office is investigating the shooting with the Anaheim Police Department, Martinez said. The names of the officers involved in the shooting were not released.

--Tony Barboza and Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Top photo: Orange County Sheriff lead forensic specialist Grant Fry marks traces of evidence near the scene of the shootout.

Middle photo: Orange County Sheriff forensic specialist Slavco Arsovski inspects a gun holster in the middle of Brookhurst Street.

Bottom photo: Orange County Sheriff lead forensic specialist Grant Fry secures the shattered glass of a bullet-riddled car.

Credit: Robert Gautheir / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[stewart]

seems to me we are getting quite a number of Police shootings as of late, Oakland, Houston and now this?

[callie]

Horrible.