Man Fatally Shot After Aiming Rifle at Officers

Orange County sheriff’s deputies fatally shot a man who led police on a high-speed chase from Mission Viejo to Trabuco Canyon before he allegedly took aim at law enforcement officers with a rifle with a scope, officials said Monday.

The shooting victim, Carlos Sandovale, 21, of Lake Forest, was hit in the chest several times. He died after surgery at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino said.

The chase began early Monday morning, when deputies tried to pull over the driver of a gray Honda Accord for speeding near Alicia Parkway and Trabuco Road. The driver sped away from deputies, leading them on a furious chase through Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita, Amormino said.

Deputies called for reinforcement, and two sergeants in a second patrol car joined the pursuit.

The chase ended on Santiago Canyon Road when the driver got out of his car carrying the rifle. The driver was heading toward the nearby brush when he turned and pointed the rifle at deputies, officials said. Officers then opened fire.

Amormino said two sergeants and one of the deputies fired their weapons, hitting the man several times. None of the officers was injured.

The spokesman said it was unclear what made the motorist act so erratically. He also described the incident as traumatic for the officers involved.

“We don’t know why he did it,” Amormino said. “It sounds pretty bizarre.”

One of the deputies involved was formerly deployed at the Orange County Jail and was being trained for patrol by a sergeant.

“It was his second day on patrol,” Amormino said.

As is routine, investigators from the Orange County district attorney’s office were reviewing the shooting, said prosecutor Jim Tanizaki. The California Highway Patrol blocked off the road between Modjeska and Silverado canyon roads shortly after the shooting took place, about 12:30 a.m., until noon Monday, said Highway Patrol Officer Michelle DiMaggio.