SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – A San Diego Harbor Police officer was shot during a gun battle in Little Italy with a person suspected in a deadly shooting that occurred about an hour earlier in the downtown area.
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said SDPD officers responded at around 8:20 a.m. Wednesday to a reported shooting in the 1300 block of Union Street in which a man and woman were killed and a suspected gunman was on the loose.
According to SDPD Captain Manny Del Toro, the shooter was a man wearing a green shirt and blue jeans, and that description was sent out to law enforcement citywide. Police believe the shooter knew the man and woman.
According to Wahl, about 45 minutes later, Harbor Police officers who were assisting in the search spotted the person believed to be the suspected gunman in the Union Street shooting at Juniper Street and Kettner Boulevard in Little Italy.
Harbor PD officers encountered someone wearing tactical pants and boots who was being "blatant and aggressive," according to Del Toro. The man had knives and was armed with a gun.
During a confrontation, an exchange of gunfire erupted, with a Harbor Police officer shot in the hip and the suspect struck by officers’ gunfire. SDPD officials said three officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect, and multiple shots were fired at the officers.
Del Toro says it's unclear at this point if the suspect or officers shot first.
The injured officer was taken to UC San Diego Medical Center. Port of San Diego Harbor Police Chief Magda Fernandez says the officer got out of surgery just before noon and is now in recovery.
She says before the surgery, he was "awake, alert and in good spirits."
Harbor PD is not identifying the officer at this point; however, Fernandez did confirm he was a field trainee who had been on the force for three months. He was with a field training officer at the time of the shooting, Fernandez says.
WATCH: Fernandez thanked all responding officers for their quick response to the shooting
"I'd like to tell everybody to keep this police officer in their thoughts and prayers; this is a very dangerous job that we do and today signifies that." — SDPD Chief Scott Wahl
Wahl said during the press conference that the suspect was also taken to the hospital in unknown condition.
At around 11:40 a.m., SDPD officials told ABC 10News the suspect died at the hospital. They described him as a 26-year-old white man.
"This could've been much worse. I have to commend the officers from the Harbor Police Department in their response and the way that they engaged the suspect. This is Little Italy; we have people walking the streets, coffee shops... their ability to run towards gunfire and to courageously engage this individual, I believe, saved lives,” Wahl said.
A motive in the Union Street shooting is being investigated by SDPD Homicide detectives. The victims have not been identified at this point, but during a 2:30 p.m. press conference, SDPD said one was a 39-year-old Hispanic man, while the other was a 31-year-old Hispanic woman.
According to the investigation, specific roads were closed throughout the day as police asked the public to avoid the following areas:
- Kettner Boulevard between W. Ivy and Laurel streets
- Union Street, between W. Ash and W. A streets
- Intersection of Union and W. Ash streets
WATCH: See ABC 10News' team coverage of the shootings from our 11 a.m. newscast.
