San Diego officer is shot during pursuit

A San Diego police officer was shot while pursuing a suspect in a stolen car who then holed up in a home for nine hours Monday, officials said.

The officer, who has been on the force a year and a half, is expected to recover. Police Chief David Nisleit said the officer’s ballistic vest probably saved his life, along with fellow officers’ quick responses to render medical aid and rush him to a hospital.

The shooter — who Nisleit said used a 9-millimeter “ghost gun” — barricaded himself in a vacant townhouse in the Mountain View neighborhood and kept the SWAT team at bay until about 10:30 a.m., when the team entered and found him unresponsive. Ghost guns are firearms without serial numbers that are often assembled from kits, making them untraceable.

Officers revived the man with naloxone — a drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose — and brought him out of the home on a stretcher. He was taken to a hospital for treatment.

He is expected to be arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of a police officer and other charges, Nisleit said at an afternoon news conference at the San Diego Police Department’s downtown headquarters.

Nisleit said he has already been in contact with Dist. Atty. Summer Stephan and prosecutors in her office regarding the potential criminal case.

“I’m going to ask that he be held fully accountable for this,” Nisleit said. “Again, this is a person that, in my opinion, lied in wait and shot a police officer.”

The department identified the suspect as Andrew Garcia, 21, of San Diego. Nisleit said the wounded officer works in patrol in Central Division but did not release his name.

Nisleit grew emotional, his eyes filling with tears, as he spoke about the officer. “This is family,” he said.

The incident began shortly after 12:20 a.m. when police spotted a stolen Toyota 4Runner and tried to pull over the driver on Main Street in Barrio Logan, Homicide Unit Lt. Steve Shebloski said. Homicide detectives handle the investigation when officers are shot and injured or killed.

The suspect sped off, kicking off a roughly hourlong pursuit, Shebloski said. Police chased the car for several miles, but the driver was speeding and driving erratically, and concerns for public safety prompted officers to stop the chase.

Officers in a police helicopter kept eyes on the fleeing SUV, tracking it until the driver ditched it in an apartment complex on 45th Street and Logan Avenue shortly before 1:30 a.m.

The suspect took off running. Police in the helicopter directed officers on the ground toward the fleeing man.

As the suspect ran, he fired at the officers behind him, police spokesman Lt. Adam Sharki said. Police did not return fire.

The rookie officer was struck multiple times as he came around an apartment building, police said.

A police officer who is also trained as a physician assistant helped the injured officer, Nisleit said.

Rather than wait for an ambulance, police drove the wounded officer to a trauma hospital.

“I really believe the officers just did an incredible job under extreme stress,” Nisleit said. “You have to remember they don’t know where the suspect went. This is someone who just fired at them, and yet they’re doing rescues and they’re doing medical aid.”

The officer was struck at least once on his arm, and another round hit his bulletproof vest, said Officer Jared Wilson, president of the San Diego Police Officers Assn.

Police were able to pinpoint the suspect’s location because an officer in a police helicopter saw the suspect go into the vacant townhouse.

SWAT officers and negotiators surrounded the twostory townhouse on 44rd Street near Newton Avenue.