1 Man Dead in Police Shooting; Separate Incident Claims 1 Life

A San Diego police officer shot and killed a man Saturday afternoon who was suspected of having wounded another individual just minutes before in Sherman Heights east of downtown, a homicide official said.

The fatal shooting took place about 2:30 p.m. on the north side of the intersection of Market and 24th streets, in front of the elementary school entrance for Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church, Lt. John Welter said Saturday.

The man, who the county medical examiner had not identified as of late Saturday, was dead on arrival at UC San Diego Medical Center, a spokeswoman there reported. There were no police injuries, Welter said.

It was the second fatal shooting Saturday. Earlier, an all-night party in Logan Heights to celebrate the return of a U.S. Navy sailor turned violent about 5 a.m. with the death of one party-goer and the wounding of two others.

In the police-involved homicide, Welter said that two police motorcycle officers spotted a man in a blue and white pickup truck as they traveled west on Market Street in response to a reported shooting at the intersection of 20th and Market streets.

The motorcycle officers pulled up behind the truck and found that the license plate matched the number radioed to officers, Welter said.

“One officer approached the driver’s side of the truck on foot . . . and ordered the driver to place both hands on the dashboard in plain view,” Welter said.

Instead, Welter said, the driver put one hand out but reached toward the seat with the other hand “and brought a revolver up and pointed it toward the officer.”

The officer then fired three times into the driver’s chest, mortally wounding him, Welter said. Both motorcycle officers were being questioned Saturday night by homicide investigators, officials said. The officer who shot the suspect will not be identified until Monday, Welter said.

In the 20th and Market streets shooting, Juan Edmundson was shot in the arm by a man who fled in a blue and white truck, Welter said.

Information on that shooting, including the truck’s license plate, was called in to police by a witness, Welter said. Edmundson did not seek medical help and disappeared during the resulting confusion, Welter said, although police later located him and took him to UCSD for treatment and questioning.

“We have no idea yet why the first shooting occurred and why Edmundson did not call police,” Welter said, adding that it was Edmundson’s mother who contacted police. Welter said that Edmundson and the dead man apparently had some sort of argument, after which Edmundson was shot.

The witness who called police said the suspect had stuffed a revolver into the back of his shorts as he fled in the truck, Welter said.

Welter described the weapon in the truck as a large-frame, stainless-steel revolver with a wooden handle.

Earlier Saturday, Hector Montano, 33, a Mexican national, was fatally wounded while at an all-night party in the yard of a house at 3161 K Street in Logan Heights. The owner of the house, Federico Vasquez, 40, and his son, Julian Vasquez, 22, were wounded.

Montano was dead on arrival at UC San Diego Medical Center with two wounds in his chest. Federico Vasquez was in stable condition Saturday night at UC San Diego Medical Center, a spokeswoman said, after undergoing surgery for gunshot wounds in his arm and chest. Julian Vasquez was in good condition at Mercy Hospital with wounds in his shoulder and knee, a spokesman said.

Welter said two men apparently “crashed” the party, about 4 a.m., which was being held to honor another son of Federico Vasquez who had just returned from a six-month deployment with the U.S. Navy.

The two men, described as young Latino males, were told to leave after an argument, Welter said. But they returned about an hour later, and one approached the three victims and fired a handgun at close range, Welter said.

The two men ran off on foot, Welter said. Gang detectives have been called in to continue the investigation.