Officer Shoots, Wounds Assault Suspect

A police officer responding to a reported assault on two people shot a 29-year-old man in the shoulder Friday evening when that man appeared to pull a handgun from his waistband, authorities said Saturday.

Antonio De Los Angeles of Costa Mesa was treated at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana and was later arrested there on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, Costa Mesa Police Lt. Alan Kent said. De Los Angeles was in stable condition Saturday in a room guarded by a police officer. His bail was set at $50,000.

The incident started about 8:40 p.m. Friday, when officers were called about a possibly armed man outside a home near Wilson Street and Raleigh Avenue. When officers arrived, witnesses pointed them to De Los Angeles, who allegedly had threatened two men, Kent said.

An officer, who was not identified, shot De Los Angeles in the shoulder as the suspect “appeared to be removing the handgun from his waistband after failing to obey the officer’s orders,” Kent said.

Police recovered the suspect’s weapon, which turned out to be a pellet gun designed as an authentic replica of a revolver, Kent said.

Neither the officer nor the two alleged assault victims, identified by police as Enrique and Christian Gomez of Costa Mesa, were injured in the incident. It is being investigated by the Orange County district attorney’s office, as is standard in all officer-involved shootings.