SAN DIEGO — One man was killed and four others were wounded after a gunman opened fire at two spots about a block apart in the Gaslamp Quarter on Thursday night, authorities said.
Bystanders chased and struggled with the gunman. Police arrived, and the gunman continued to fight, prompting an officer to shoot him with stun gun, San Diego police homicide Lt. Andra Brown said. The suspected shooter was arrested and the gun was recovered.
A 28-year-old man died at the scene, and medics took three others to hospitals, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Battalion Chief Jeff Mitchell said. A fourth victim was treated and released at the scene.
Brown identified the suspected shooter as a 32-year-old man but did not release his name. After an officer shot the suspected gunman with a Taser, he was taken to a hospital to be medically evaluated, as is standard protocol. She noted that he was also injured during the struggle with bystanders.
The gunfire erupted around 10:30 p.m. at Fifth Avenue and J Street, then a block away Fifth and Island Avenue, she said.
Brown said the early investigation indicates the shooter walked up to a man standing at Fifth and J, near Pendry Hotel. The shooter confronted the man, who apparently worked in the area, then opened fire.
The gunman walked off, then turned around and opened fire on the victim again. The victim died.
About a block away, at Fifth and Island, the suspect encountered and confronted a group of men.
She told reporters, including OnScene TV, that witnesses told investigators that the shooter “was kind of bumping into people, verbally picking fights with them, that he was the aggressor.”
Brown said the gunman pulled out the weapon and opened fire.
The bullets struck four people. A 27-year-old man was shot in his upper chest, and a 68-year-old man was hit in his torso. A 26-year-old man was shot in an arm. All three were taken to area hospitals with injuries not considered to be life-threatening. The last victim, a 28-year-old man, was shot in the arm, but paramedics treated him at the scene.
