Deputy injured in shooting in National City – NBC 7 San Diego

A large police force was called to an area near Mile of Cars Way in National City on Friday after a person was fatally shot by an undercover sheriff's deputy who, according to police, jumped out of a car and was pursued by other officers became.

Due to an interdepartmental agreement to investigate officer-involved shootings, the San Diego Police Department is handling the investigation.

Later that afternoon, SDPD Lt. Lou Maggi provided an update on the incident, telling the media that officers were attempting to stop a white Acura with three people inside when a front seat passenger got out and fled on foot. he said, and officers from the National City Police Department were then called in to assist.

Maggi said a citizen directed officers to an area in the parking lot of a nearby Dodge dealership, where officers found the person they were looking for hiding in a tow truck. According to the lieutenant, at some point an undercover officer shot and killed the man. That person was shot in the vehicle, Maggi said at the news conference, and then pulled from the truck where officers rendered aid, but he died at the scene.

Investigators later discovered a gun near the man, whose age is not yet known. The weapon appeared to be jammed, Maggi said. NBC 7 later asked Maggi if there was an exchange of gunfire, and he said at the time he didn't know if the person killed fired shots. Later that evening, SDPD said in a news release, “As the detective gave commands to the man, the man apparently fired at least one bullet in the direction of the detective, shattering the passenger window of the tow truck and injuring the detective from fragments of broken glass.” The detective returned fire, striking the man.”

At least half a dozen police vehicles, many with San Diego Sheriff's Department logos, blocked the Hoover Avenue intersection for hours. At least three officers were seen searching the Acura for quite some time, and there was a second scene not far away involving the flatbed tow truck.

Authorities said the deputy who was injured in the incident, which occurred around 2 p.m., was taken to UC San Diego Hillcrest Medical Center with what Maggi described as minor injuries.

Witnesses who were getting groceries nearby at the time of the shooting told NBC 7 they probably heard at least five gunshots. They also said they saw a woman in the Acura being held at gunpoint and that officers continued to point their firearms at the vehicle afterward. Maggi confirmed later in the day that the other two people in the Acura were arrested on drug charges.

San Diego police said earlier in the evening that the undercover officer and a National City officer who accompanied him in the parking lot both had body-worn cameras when the shooting occurred.

The SDPD press release also said the undercover officer, assigned to the East County Regional Gang Task Force, has been with the sheriff's department for about 35 years.

NBC 7's Shelby Bremer contributed to this report.