Officer Dies, 2 Hurt in San Diego Shooting

One police officer was killed, another was seriously injured and a third person--a woman riding along with police--was wounded in a shoot-out at the end of a high-speed chase through Southeast San Diego Sunday night, police and witnesses said.

The police officers and the civilian were apparently shot with one of the officers’ guns, a witness said.

A suspect in the shootings drove a police squad car to his home, then drove with his grandfather in another car to the downtown police station, where he turned himself in to authorities, police said. The suspect was not identified.

The dead police officer was identified as Tom Riggs, the brother-in-law of another officer, Timothy J. Ruopp, who died Sept. 16 from wounds suffered when he was shot while on patrol on the edge of Balboa Park in San Diego. Ruopp’s widow is Riggs’ sister.

The second officer shot Sunday night, whose name was not released, was in critical but stable condition at Mercy Hospital. He had a bullet wound to the neck and large cuts on his face and scalp. He also suffered other injuries when he was run over by a squad car as the suspect fled the scene.

The woman, who was in the police car as part of the department’s “ride-along” program to acquaint civilians with police activities, was in good condition with superficial bullet wounds. Her name was not available.

Although the reason for the chase was not clear Sunday night, a witness told reporters that two police cars chased a truck east through the 6500 block of Brooklyn Avenue shortly after 6 p.m.

Several men left the car and a struggle ensued with one of the suspects grabbing an officer’s gun and opening fire, the witness reported.

Police said the civilian ride-along guest used a police radio to call for assistance. “We’ve been hit,” she cried to a dispatcher. “We need help. “