Suspect Chased at Festival Is Killed

A routine police stop led to a dramatic chase through one Ventura restaurant and across downtown rooftops Saturday night--ending when the armed suspect was fatally shot as hundreds of residents packed the streets for the city’s annual Artwalk celebration.

The 29-year-old Ventura resident, who remained unidentified pending notification of relatives, was gunned down shortly after 6 p.m. after a chase that involved more than 25 officers.

The chase started when a police officer tried to question the suspect and several other bystanders.

The man fled into the back door of the Busy Bee Cafe, where an employee said the man held a gun against his own chest as he dashed through the packed diner, out the front door and into the Ventura Inn, where he made his way to the rooftop.

A Ventura police officer shot the man once after he continued to flash a revolver during the chase, then confronted the officer with the weapon, Lt. Don Arth said.

“It was a pretty tense situation,” said Police Lt. Carl Handy. “We’ve got a guy waving a gun around and it’s crowded downtown. This gets people pretty pumped up.”