A man who swung a metal chain while approaching a police officer was fatally shot in the community of Southcrest Wednesday evening, not long after the same man allegedly attacked another person with a machete, authorities said.

San Diego police responded to several 911 calls around 5:15 p.m., reporting an assault with a deadly weapon on Boston Avenue near South 40th Street.

Officers found a person in the area — a man in his 40s — who had been hit in the head with a machete, said police Capt. Tom Underwood. The man, whose injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, was taken to a hospital.

Minutes after the machete attack, an officer tried to approach a man near South 40th and National Avenue, a few blocks north of where the reported attack occurred.


The man had a three- to four-foot length of chain in his hands and swung it at the officer, who was retreating, Underwood said, adding that the officer told the man repeatedly to put down the chain, but he did not comply.

The officer fired a Taser at the man, but it was ineffective, Underwood said. The officer then fired his gun at least once, hitting the suspect.

The man was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

No officers were injured.


At least one witness confirmed seeing the man swing the chain at the officer. Christine Nieto, 28, said she was in her home near South 40th and Newton Avenue when her mother called her outside. Nieto said she saw an officer walking backwards with his gun trained on a man about a block north of her.

She said the officer shouted commands at the man with the long chain.

“The suspect just kept swinging his chain like an ‘X’ — left, right, left, right,” Nieto said.

1 / 6 San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit, second from left, talks with police officers as they stand on South 40th Street, the scene of an officer-involved shooting of a man in San Diego. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 6 A San Diego police officer stands next to a police vehicle parked beside the scene of an officer-involved shooting of a man, where items, including a shoe, can be seen on the ground behind the vehicle on South 40th Street in San Diego. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 6 San Diego police officers talk to a woman while on Boston Avenue, not far from where an officer-involved shooting of a man happened in San Diego. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 6 San Diego police officers stand next to a police vehicle that’s parked beside the scene of an officer-involved shooting of a man, where items, including a shoe, can be seen on the ground behind the vehicle on South 40th Street in San Diego. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 6 A San Diego police officer talks to a man, possibly a witness, near the scene of an officer-involved shooting of a man on South 40th Street in San Diego. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 6 Items, including a shoe, can be seen on the ground behind a parked police vehicle at the scene of an officer-involved shooting of a man on South 40th Street in San Diego. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)


Seconds after the shooting, other police officers arrived and ordered the man to put his hands behind his back, Nieto said.

Some streets in the area — including 40th Street between National and Boston, and National Avenue between 39th and 41st streets — were closed while police continued to investigate the incidents. They were expected to remain closed until sometime Thursday.

San Diego police Chief David Nisleit was at the scene Wednesday night, along with a couple dozen officers and investigators.


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