Harbor Police officer injured, 3 dead in shootings in Little Italy and downtown

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – A San Diego Harbor Police officer was shot during a gun battle in Little Italy with a person suspected in a deadly shooting that occurred about an hour earlier in the downtown area.
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said SDPD officers responded at around 8:20 a.m. Wednesday to a reported shooting in the 1300 block of Union Street in which a man and woman were killed and a suspected gunman was on the loose.
According to SDPD Captain Manny Del Toro, the shooter was a man wearing a green shirt and blue jeans, and that description was sent out to law enforcement citywide. Police believe the shooter knew the man and woman.
According to Wahl, about 45 minutes later, Harbor Police officers who were assisting in the search spotted the person believed to be the suspected gunman in the Union Street shooting at Juniper Street and Kettner Boulevard in Little Italy.
Harbor PD officers encountered someone wearing tactical pants and boots who was being “blatant and aggressive,” according to Del Toro. The man had knives and was armed with a gun.
During a confrontation, an exchange of gunfire erupted, with a Harbor Police officer shot in the hip and the suspect struck by officers’ gunfire. SDPD officials said three officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect, and multiple shots were fired at the officers.
Del Toro says it’s unclear at this point if the suspect or officers shot first.
The injured officer was taken to UC San Diego Medical Center, and while Wahl said it is believed the officer will be OK, their condition was not immediately known.
Wahl said during the press conference that the suspect was also taken to the hospital in unknown condition.
At around 11:40 a.m., SDPD officials told ABC 10News the suspect died at the hospital. They described him as a man in his 20s.
“This could’ve been much worse. I have to commend the officers from the Harbor Police Department in their response and the way that they engaged the suspect. This is Little Italy; we have people walking the streets, coffee shops … their ability to run towards gunfire and to courageously engage this individual I believe saved lives,” Wahl said.
A motive in the Union Street shooting is being investigated by SDPD Homicide detectives. The victims in that shooting were not identified.
According to the investigation, specific roads have been closed and police are asking the public to avoid the following areas for the next few hours: