Heavily Armed Suspect Wounded by Police

A suspect armed with a semiautomatic pistol and a sawed-off shotgun was shot and wounded by a San Diego police officer early Wednesday.

The shooting marked the 13th time this year that police gunfire has injured or killed someone. Seven of those shot died.

Sean White, 22, the Southeast San Diego man wounded Wednesday, was in fair condition Wednesday after surgery, a Mercy Hospital spokeswoman said.

Police received a call shortly after 2 a.m. that a man was firing a gun in the 4700 block of Home Avenue, Homicide Lt. Dan Berglund said.

When Officer Bill Albrektsen, 31, and Sgt. Dave Stanley, arrived at the scene, they saw a man up the street who matched a description given by the caller. As they started to approach, he ran into an apartment complex.

Albrektsen didn’t see White entering the apartment complex, but did hear someone pounding on an apartment door. When Albrektsen confronted White, White turned, apparently trying to hide his right hand, police said.

Then Albrektsen “did see the pistol coming out,” Berglund said.

Albrektsen, who has been on the force two years, fired five shots from his 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol, hitting White twice, once in the stomach and once grazing his back.

When the suspect collapsed, a sawed-off shotgun fell out of his jacket.

“The officer was in fear for his life, and rightfully so,” Berglund said.

White was arrested on suspicion of attacking an officer with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed weapon without a license and an being an addict in possession of a gun, a spokeswoman at the jail said.