Father of Point Loma shooting victim speaks – NBC 7 San Diego

A day after San Diego police announced they were called to a Point Loma home twice in the week before the fatal shooting earlier this week, a relative of a victim told NBC 7 on Friday he does not believe the officers who conducted the response were to blame.

“I don't blame the police officers. They are constrained by the policies they have to follow. I blame the politicians,” Hank Robinson told NBC 7.

Hank is the father of 30-year-old Brett Robinson, who was killed in Wednesday's triple shooting.

“I know if I were there, my son would still be alive,” Hank said.

The suspected shooter, 60-year-old William Bushey, pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder charges on Friday.

William sat expressionless during the arraignment, barely blinking – even as Judge John Pro issued an order banning him from having any contact with his mother, June Bushey, with whom police say William has lived for at least 15 years.

“The defendant must stay 100 metres away from her home, place of work, vehicle, school and any place where June Bushey is present,” Pro said.

Police believe William shot 85-year-old June with a shotgun found in her front yard on Zola Street. She survived the ambush, but her daughter, Laurie Robinson, and Laurie's son, Brett, were killed.

Two people are dead and a woman in her 80s is fighting for her life after she was allegedly shot by her son. NBC 7's Dave Summers reports August 21, 2024.

Captain Matt Dobbs of the San Diego Police Department confirmed Thursday that officers had been called to the Zola Street home twice in the past two years. The first time was five days before the shooting, on Aug. 16. Dobbs said police stayed for an hour and the family did not know at the time if there were any weapons in the home.

“He was only verbally aggressive. There were no specific threats against anyone in the family. No crimes were committed,” Dobbs said.

On Aug. 19 — two days before the shooting — officers spent 45 minutes at the home, according to Dobbs. They were told that family members had removed what appeared to be a pellet gun and the kitchen knives.

According to police, William did not meet the criteria for psychiatric admission in either case.

“Police officers spoke to Mr. Bushey for quite some time on the 19th and he showed no signs of mental disorder or mental illness,” Dobbs said.

Dobbs reiterated that officers made the right decision on both calls.

“We ask our officers to make very difficult decisions every day, and even when they make the right decision – which was the case in this case – tragedies can still happen,” Dobbs said. “And don't think for a minute that officers don't doubt their own decisions in light of the results of this incident.”

William Bushey, 60, is accused of killing his mother and two other people in a Point Loma home on Wednesday afternoon, NBC 7's Shelby Bremer reports.

In court, NBC 7 learned that William suffers from a chronic illness that requires medication. The details of his illness were not explained.

For now, William remains behind bars without bail.

If convicted of all charges, William faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is scheduled to appear in court for another preliminary hearing in December.