Man shot dead by Santa Ana police after altercation in strip mall parking lot
A man was fatally shot by Santa Ana police Sunday night following an altercation in an empty strip mall parking lot, police officials said.
The man was sitting in a blacked-out white pickup truck in the vacant lot off Edinger Avenue and Sullivan Street about 11:30 p.m., said Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.
“When you see a car blacked out at closed businesses at 11:30 at night, it’s something you check into,” Bertagna said.
For reasons still to be determined, the confrontation turned physical between the two patrol officers and the man in the truck, Bertagna said.
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One of the officers used a Taser on the man, but it’s unclear if it worked, Bertagna said. Both officers then fired at the man, who was hit and later died at a nearby hospital, Bertagna said.
One of the officers was injured in the fight and was hospitalized but is expected to be released Monday.
Neither officer involved in the altercation has been interviewed by investigators so it was not immediately clear why they shot at the man, police said. Bertagna said he did not know whether the man had a weapon.
The investigation is ongoing and the identity of the man killed has not been released.
For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.
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