REDLANDS >> The victim in last week’s hostage incident at Office Depot was shot by responding officers, not the man who took her hostage, Redlands Police Chief Mark Garcia said during a news conference Friday.







When Andrew Mike, 29, of Downey first arrived on March 24 at Office Depot, where ex-girlfriend Kristin Bauer, 28, of Corona worked as a manager, Mike and Bauer went to his car to speak to avoid a scene. Inside the vehicle, Mike tried to kill himself by placing a gun into his mouth, but it did not fire.



Mike drove around the area. Bauer asked him to stop the vehicle several times.







• Video: Chief Mark Garcia talks about the department’s investigation in to the Office Depot hostage incident and shooting







At one point while driving, he fired his gun toward Bauer, striking the passenger door.







As they drove, Mike unsuccessfully tried to inject Bauer with an unknown substance. They returned to Office Depot, where Mike followed Bauer into the store. He restrained Bauer at gunpoint.







Garcia said Mike threatened Bauer’s life multiple times during the incident.



After Mike fired his weapon inside the store and struck an uninvolved party who tried to assist Bauer, Mike forced Bauer outside and held her hostage for nearly three hours.







Police tried to negotiate with Mike, but were not successful.







Thinking Bauer was in danger, officers fired their weapons, striking Mike and killing him, Garcia said.







“At the same time Kristin was wounded,” Garcia said. The bullet was from a responding officer, not Mike’s gun, which had jammed, Garcia said.







She was struck in the torso.



Bauer was flown to Loma Linda University Medical Center.







Garcia said he met with Bauer this morning to share the news.







“She had a little reaction,” he said, but would not elaborate.







Garcia said multiple agencies responded to the incident, with officers arriving on scene within two minutes.







He said the multi-agency response may have had to do with the incident’s initial call, which went out to dispatchers as an active shooter situation.







Eleven officers fired a total of 25 rounds, Garcia said. Of the officers who fired their weapons, nine were from the Redlands Police Department and two were San Bernardino police officers.



“At the point that police fired, they were acting on the belief that Kristin was going to be killed,” he said.







She remains at Loma Linda University Medical Center in serious condition, confirmed spokeswoman Briana Pastorino immediately before the press conference.







“After meeting with Kristin again this morning, I am encouraged by her recovery,” Garcia said. “I pray for her continued recovery, and the Redlands Police Department and I will continue to do all we can to assist her as she heals.”







The investigation is ongoing.



Staff Writer Sandra Emerson contributed to this report.

