Officer Accidentally Shoots Self in San Diego Pursuit

Suspect was arrested near marathon finish line
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 4, 2018 12:34 AM CDT
Officer Accidentally Shoots Self in San Diego Pursuit
San Diego Police close streets near the area where an officer accidentally shot himself in the leg while pursuing a hit-and-run suspect who pointed a weapon at police.   (AP Photo/Julie Watson)

A San Diego police officer accidentally shot himself in the leg Sunday while pursuing a hit-and-run suspect who pointed a weapon at officers and was eventually arrested on the roof of a parking structure near the finish line of an annual marathon, authorities say. Officers fired at the woman but missed after she brandished the weapon at the parking facility at the edge of a downtown plaza shared by City Hall, police chief David Nisleit says. The suspect, identified by police as 58-year-old Mona Elease Williams, threw the weapon from the top of the structure to the street below before being taken into custody, Nisleit says. It was unclear what type of weapon it was, but investigators are looking into whether it was a pellet gun that resembles the real thing, the chief says.

Nisleit says the wounded officer's gun accidentally discharged and he was struck once in the lower leg. He is expected to fully recover. Officers fired at least two shots at the woman after she pointed the weapon at them, Nisleit says. Williams was booked on a charge of felony resisting arrest, police say. Police initially suspected the woman might have been linked to a kidnapping investigation in Chula Vista, but later Sunday a department spokesman said the two incidents appeared to be unrelated. In announcing the woman's arrest, police said the scene was secure and there was no threat to the area near the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, which brought thousands of people downtown along with a heavy police presence, the AP reports. (In Denver on Saturday, a dancing FBI agent accidentally shot a man.)

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