Drama at marathon in San Diego
A SAN DIEGO marathon came to a halt for a sprint by police Sunday morning, as officers nabbed a pellet gun-toting woman who was later linked to a kidnapping, authorities said.
Nearly 5,000 runners were rerouted for 10 minutes about 11 a.m. as police swarmed a parking garage two blocks from the Rock ’n’ Roll San Diego finish line to confront a woman escaping a hit-and-run wreck, police said.
A police sergeant who followed Mona Williams, 58, into the garage came faceto-face with her aiming the weapon at him, authorities said.
He backed off and the woman drove to the roof, where another officer found her, according to cops. Williams raised the weapon again, prompting the officer to fire two shots — both of which missed, Police Chief David Nisleit said at a press conference.
A second officer accidentally shot himself in the leg when his weapon “unex- pectedly discharged.” He is expected to be OK.
Williams was apprehended after chucking the weapon off the roof, cops said.
Police suspect her in the case of a man getting tied up and gagged in the suburb of Chula Vista, Nisleit said. Af- ter te breaking free, the th chief said, the man called 911 and described his attacker — who Nisleit said resembled Williams.
“We believe th this event is going to be connected,” th the chief said.
The confrontati tion, although first re reported as an acti tive shooter, had nothing to do with the race, cops and organizers said. Some competitors were unaware of the downtown chaos until after crossing the finish line.
“I’m surprised to hear that, but since I’m slow, luckily I was not affected,” said Fabian Tabares, 49. GUATEMALA CITY — Rescuers struggled to reach rural residents cut off by a volcanic eruption that killed 25 people and injured at least 20 near Guatemala’s capital, authorities said Sunday.
Disaster agency spokesman David de Leon said the first seven bodies were found in the community of San Miguel Los Lotes.
Authorities have been unable to account for an undetermined number of people and say they fear the death toll could rise.
The Volcan de Fuego, or “volcano of fire,” exploded in a hail of molten rock shortly before noon Sunday, blanketing nearby villages in heavy ash. Then it began sending lava flows down the mountain’s flank and into homes and across roads around 4 p.m.