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Home Ap News San Diego police shooting of armed suspect sparks protest

San Diego police shooting of armed suspect sparks protest

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San Diego police shooting of armed suspect sparks protest

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Police in San Diego shot and critically wounded a robbery suspect who they said took out a gun from his waistband and pointed it at an officer who tried to engage him.

The shooting on a downtown sidewalk shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday sparked immediate anger among protesters, who marched through the streets Sunday demanding police release footage of the encounter from officer body-worn cameras.

The San Diego Police Department later Sunday released the two officers’ body camera videos of the shooting, as well as videos from nearby security and street-light cameras.

The videos show the man, dressed in a red track suit, walking out of a building onto a sidewalk as he holds a bag that appears to be full.

Two officers on patrol recognized the man from a wanted flyer circulating about a robbery suspect, police Capt. Rich Freedman said.

The videos then show an officer on the sidewalk and one on the street asking the man to talk to them.

The man drops the bag, starts walking away, and then pulls an object out of the waistband of his pants and points it at the officer on the street, the videos show.

The officers yell “Stop! Stop!” and then fire their guns at him, the videos show, The man falls on the sidewalk, and the officers run up to him and handcuff him as he lay bleeding.

The officers then try to revive him and check his pulse, the videos show.

The department also tweeted Sunday a photo of the gun that the officers said was wrapped in camouflage cloth.

“Fearing they were going to be shot, the officers returned fire,” Freedman said.

The man, identified as 25-year-old Leonardo Hurtado Ibarra, was taken to a hospital, where he remained Sunday in the intensive care unit, police said.

The officers were placed on administrative, per standard protocol, as police investigate the shootings. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI will also monitor the investigation.

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