The shooting and search shut down major roads near Pacific Highway, Morena Boulevard and Mission Valley.
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — A man wanted on a no-bail warrant was arrested Tuesday after a police shooting, an hourslong search and a SWAT standoff in a riverbed near Pacific Highway, authorities said.
The arrest ended a major police response in the Morena and Mission Valley area that began around 9:45 a.m. June 30. San Diego police said officers first contacted the man during an abatement detail before he ran. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit is now leading the investigation into the officer-involved shooting, while San Diego police will review the officer’s use of the firearm.
The incident started in the 4700 block of Pacific Highway, near the riverbed between Pacific Highway and Morena Boulevard. Authorities said San Diego Police Department officers contacted a known man who had a no-bail warrant and was a parolee at large. The man fled, and more officers were called to the area. An officer later found him and chased him before the officer-involved shooting occurred, the Sheriff’s Office said. The man then ran into the riverbed, where heavy brush and uneven ground slowed the search. “No San Diego Police Department officers were injured during the incident,” the Sheriff’s Office said in its release.
San Diego police sent SWAT officers to help search the riverbed. Officers later found the man, but authorities said he did not surrender right away. The standoff lasted for hours while the San Diego Police Department’s Emergency Negotiation Team tried to speak with him. Police said the man repeatedly refused orders to surrender after officers located him hiding in heavy brush. A police dog was deployed before officers took the man into custody. Local reports said the arrest happened just before 7 p.m., nearly nine hours after officers first contacted him. The suspect was taken to a hospital for a medical evaluation after the arrest.
Authorities have not released the suspect’s name, age or city of residence. They also have not released the name of the officer who fired or said how many shots were fired. Officials said the man will be booked on a felony parole violation. It was not immediately clear whether other charges were being reviewed. The Sheriff’s Office said detectives were collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses and reviewing all parts of the event. Officials also did not say whether a weapon was recovered from the riverbed or whether the suspect fired at officers before or during the police shooting.
The search caused a large traffic impact in an area that connects Mission Valley, Morena and nearby freeway ramps. Police closed the 4700 block of Pacific Highway in both directions during the response. The southbound Interstate 5 off-ramp to Interstate 8 and the Rosecrans Street exit were also shut down. Friars Road was closed from Napa Street to SeaWorld Drive. The closures affected drivers moving between the beaches, Old Town, Mission Valley and central San Diego. Officers, air support and specialized units worked through the afternoon as police kept the scene locked down and searched the riverbed.
The Sheriff’s Office became involved under a countywide agreement for officer-involved shooting investigations. In San Diego County, an outside agency reviews shootings involving another law enforcement department to separate the criminal investigation from the department whose officer fired. In this case, sheriff’s homicide detectives will complete the criminal investigation and send the findings to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors will then review the case to decide whether the officer bears criminal liability. San Diego police will conduct a separate administrative review focused on department policy and the officer’s discharge of the firearm.
The area where the search unfolded includes brush, riverbed terrain, roads, commercial properties and nearby freeway access. That setting made the response visible from roads around Pacific Highway and Morena Boulevard. Police activity was reported near the riverbed throughout the day, with officers staged in the area as they searched for the suspect. The Sheriff’s Office said the man had been contacted during an abatement detail, but officials did not describe the detail further. The shooting’s exact sequence remains under review, including what officers saw, what commands were given and what happened in the moments before the officer fired.
The case remained under investigation Friday, July 3. The next major step is the Sheriff’s Office review, followed by a District Attorney’s Office decision on the officer’s criminal liability and a San Diego police administrative review.
Author note: Last updated July 3, 2026.