SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The San Diego Police Department says the victims of Wednesday's shooting downtown were likely on the way to a restraining order hearing against the man who shot and killed them.
According to SDPD's press release, the victims who were found shot and killed in their car just a block up the road from the courthouse were identified as a married couple: 31-year-old Rachael Martinez and Jose Medina, 39. SDPD says the shooter, 26-year-old Christopher Farrell, had started dating Martinez in Aug. 2024, and she later filed a police report accusing him of domestic violence, false imprisonment and sex crimes on Oct. 4.
After the shooting near the courthouse at 8:22 a.m. Wednesday, Farrell was ultimately confronted by police in Little Italy, where, after a shootout, he was shot and killed. A Harbor Police officer was also shot in that exchange but is now recovering.
SDPD officers had obtained an emergency protective order for Martinez following her Oct. 4 report, the press release says. The initial investigation showed Farrell was a security guard for Inter-Con Security, which works with the Metropolitan Transit System on a contract basis. The press release says the officers responded to an MTS office at 1600 Newton Ave. and arrested Farrell, booking him into San Diego County Jail.
He was fired from his job, and his work weapon was taken from him, SDPD says.
A detective from SDPD's domestic violence unit took up the case, and he re-interviewed Martinez and consulted with a prosecutor specializing
in domestic violence, the department says.
SDPD says at that point, the case had "insufficient evidence and corroboration to immediately move forward."
On Oct. 7, Martinez was granted a temporary restraining order against Farrell; however, SDPD says it's unclear if he was ever served with the order.
The restraining order hearing was continued to Nov. 13, the day Martinez and Medina were gunned down.
"It appears likely that Martinez and Medina had arrived near the courthouse for the purpose of attending the restraining order hearing," SDPD's press release says.
ABC 10News has obtained the court document that shows Farrell was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday for that restraining order hearing. According to the documents, Martinez and Medina filed the order against him. In her filing, Martinez says Farrell began harassing her and her husband once he learned she was married.
The court document states that one day in September, Martinez went to confront Farrell at his apartment, and once inside, she says he physically and sexually assaulted her.
SDPD's press release also provided more details on the whereabouts of the shooter between the two shooting scenes and the police response.
Farrell ran away from the scene of the first shooting at 1300 Union St. and headed north. A police helicopter overhead broadcast an initial description of the shooter to the public: A white man wearing a green shirt with blue jeans, hiking boots and a hat. SDPD says Farrell reloaded his weapon as he ran away on Ash Street.
Officers found and impounded the vehicle he arrived in near Fourth Avenue and Ash Street.
Just after 9 a.m., a witness noticed Farrell hiding behind a large electrical box in the area of West Juniper Street and Kettner Boulevard, which is about a mile away from the first shooting scene. The witness flagged down Harbor Police Department patrol units driving nearby to report the man who matched the description the police helicopter called out.
According to SDPD, four Harbor PD officers approached Farrell as he was still behind the electrical box. The department says it appears Farrell was using the box as a shield as he pointed a gun toward several officers.
Farrel fired at the Harbor PD officers, hitting one of them in the hip, SDPD says. He also hit a Harbor PD patrol car twice. Two of the officers shot at Farrell, hitting him multiple times, the press release says.
SDPD says the confrontation in Little Italy lasted less than 90 seconds.
Farrell was taken to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. SDPD says although he was hit in the upper torso several times, the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office will determine the full extent of his injuries.
Behind the electrical box, SDPD detectives found a semiautomatic handgun, multiple bullet casings, folding knives, a knife sheath on the belt of Farrell's pants, a holster, a black tactical flashlight, three magazines clipped to his pants pocket and an empty magazine on the ground.
SDPD says the Harbor PD officers who shot and killed Farrell were both assigned to the patrol unit. They've worked for Harbor PD for about nine and six years, respectively.
As of Thursday afternoon, the officer who was shot in the hip was still in the hospital recovering. His surgery was successful on Wednesday. SDPD says that officer, a Harbor PD trainee who started on the force in September, did not fire his gun during the incident. SDPD also pointed out the trainee had served under them for about a year before going to Harbor PD.
As is protocol with officer-involved shootings, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office will review the case to determine if the officers' use of force was justified.
"The investigation and review process for officer-involved shootings is extremely thorough," the press release says. "The Harbor Police Department will conduct an administrative investigation into the officers’ discharge of their firearms. The Federal Bureau of Investigations and the United States Attorney’s Office will also be monitoring the investigation."
SDPD says its detectives are continuing to investigate the case. If you have any information for police about this case, reach out to the homicide unit at 619-531-2293 or call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
