Suspected Carjacker Is Shot and Killed by Colton Police After Ramming Two Patrol Cars

A man described by police as “very bizarre and very violent” brandished a machine-gun-like handgun, carjacked two vehicles and rammed two police cars before being shot and killed by Colton officers Tuesday.

“We were fortunate no one else -- the victims or the officers involved -- were hurt,” Colton Police Chief Kenneth Rulon said near where the suspect was shot in the 1600 block of Cooley Lane.

Rulon said he would withhold the dead man’s name until his family was notified. Rulon described him as a mid-30s resident of an Inland Empire city and said the man had a criminal history that included a weapons violation and restraining orders.

About 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, the man carjacked a vehicle from a woman at Pepper Avenue and Valley Boulevard, ordering the woman to remain in the vehicle as they drove away, police said.

The woman told the man she could get him more money at a furniture warehouse in Colton, where her husband works. She persuaded the man to let her go inside alone. Once in the lobby, she called Colton police.

When confronted by police outside the furniture warehouse, the suspect rear-ended a patrol car, then ditched the vehicle he was driving, police said.

After a brief chase, the man carjacked a Ford Expedition, police said. During a brief chase, he rammed a police car, slightly injuring an officer inside, police said. The man then failed to comply with orders by three pursuing Colton police officers and was shot and killed, Rulon said.