SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- A man was shot by a San Diego police officer Thursday night after police officials said he threatened the officer with a knife on a downtown street.
The shooting happened a little after 7 p.m. in the 300 block of G Street, near Horton Plaza.
According to San Diego Police Department Capt. Rich Freedman, a man was at the intersection with a knife acting erratic. Witnesses told police the man appeared to be a transient.
“There was screaming. He was acting irrational in the intersection,” Freedman said. “There were pedestrians that were walking that were fearful to walk on the sidewalk, so that caused them to detour out into the roadway.”
Police said an officer was flagged down, and that officer approached the man, who was “standing on the southeast corner amidst a good deal of debris and holding a bowl of food.”
Freedman said, “As he got closer to the male, it looked like the male had produced a knife, threatening the officer, and that prompted the officer to discharge at least one round from his firearm.”
Police and responding emergency crews rendered first aid, and he was then transported to the hospital for treatment.
According to police, the victim -- identified as a 69-year-old white male -- underwent surgery and is in stable condition.
Police said Homicide detectives have recovered a knife. There is also body camera video of the shooting that the department will review.
The officer who opened fire has been with the San Diego Police Department for 26 years and is assigned to the Neighborhood Policing Division, police said.
