Police shoot and kill suspected arsonist

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Cal State San Bernardino:

A suspected arsonist was shot and killed by San Bernardino police last night, authorities said.

The man was spotted in a remote, brushy area behind Cal State San Bernardino, said Lt. Scott Patterson of the San Bernardino Police Department.

University police called in San Bernardino officers. When officers approached the suspect, he jumped in a car and fled, Patterson said. The man drove north on Waterman Avenue, then up a dirt fire road into the foothills, he said. When officers tried to stop him, he rammed their vehicles with his car, Patterson said.

“The officers fired their weapons in self-defense, and the suspect was struck and died as a result of his injuries,” Patterson said.

The shooting is under investigation, Patterson said.

The man was in an area that burned during the 2003 Old fire, about 20 miles from the Lake Arrowhead blazes, Patterson said.

“They thought there could be the possibility that he’s an arsonist,” Patterson said. The area “is in the path of the fire.”

-- Tami Abdollah