Guard fatally shoots man at O.C. amusement park

A security guard working night patrol at the Adventure City amusement park shot and killed a man who had hit him in the head.

The shooting took place at the intersection of Beach Boulevard and Starr Street in Stanton at about 11 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said. The security guard was patrolling the perimeter of the theme park, which is geared toward families and young children.

The guard approached a man in a pickup truck who had stopped at the park’s service entrance, and they began fighting with each other. The man allegedly struck the security guard on the head with “some type of blunt-force instrument,” said Orange County sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino.

Amormino said the man then allegedly retrieved an object from his truck “that was at least a couple feet long” that the security guard mistook for a shotgun. The man advanced toward the security guard, and the guard shot the man multiple times, he said. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The guard, who has worked at the amusement park for about 13 years, was taken to a hospital with head injuries and will be questioned again later by deputies, Amormino said.

Investigators are trying to determine why the man, who apparently lived in the Inland Empire, had stopped in the park’s service entrance and why he started fighting with the guard. The park had been closed for hours when the altercation began, and authorities said they did not recover any drugs or alcohol at the scene.

-- Ari B. Bloomekatz

Comments

[G-Money]

You gotta love the advertisement alongside this sad and tragic story.

[Tom, Long Beach, California]

inland empire? High on meth I bet....

[d a]

11pm at Adventureland?? The park is closed, the moose out front should have told him!!

[newscensorboi]

20 million. Minimum. The guy already has admitted he made an error when he acknowledged he mistook an object for a shotgun.

[jack]

What are the deputies questioning him about. It should be an open and shut case. The guard was assaulted and defended his self. Today, criminals have more rights than a person who is trying to defend themselves. I would have shot him too.

[Eric]

How is this sad or tragic? Clearly the victim was deserving of what he got and up to no good. The victim here is the security guard. The attacker made a choice and he could've just left when he found the gate closed. Putting his truck in reverse and leaving would've been the smart choice. Also, how smart is it to fight with someone who has a gun. This guy must of been an idiot. I have a hard to believing that a security guard of 13 years provoked this. You people need to stop siding with the criminals and bullies and choose the CORRECT side. It's about time we start to eliminate the stupid from our society. One down, millions to go - GOOD RIDDANCE!

[Al Neuman]

Deserved what he got. Scumbags like this deserve to be shot.

[none]

"20 million. Minimum. The guy already has admitted he made an error when he acknowledged he mistook an object for a shotgun."

@Jack...
20 million for who? Surely not the attacker's family. The subject chose his own fate by deciding to fight with an armed guard. The guard should get money for having to deal with all the emotional stress of having almost been killed and with having to take someone else's life to preserve his own.

Admitted he made an error by acknowledging he mistook an object for a shotgun? Obviously you have never been in a high stress situation where your life was at stake. The guard was clearly in fear for his life and was completely within his rights to shoot the attacker. The guard was hit in the head by the attacker, the attacker then went to his vehicle to retrieve another weapon, be it a pole, bat or shotgun. Dirt bag is dead. +1 for the good guys.

[Lucy-California]

Dead man can not defend himself so the security guard can come out with all kinds of nice stories to defend himself......hello...tell the whole true story before the deadman will start to scare you in your dreams. Why you veteren guard shut the guy legs instead of the head.