ESCONDIDO (CBS 8) – A wild police takedown in Escondido began with an officer-involved shooting Wednesday night and stretched late into the night as bomb techs searched the suspect's vehicle for possible explosives.
An unidentified suspect was killed in the shooting which happened around 8:00 p.m. Wednesday on Avenida Magoria near Del Lago Boulevard and involved multiple San Diego Police Department officers, according to police.
Neighbors report hearing dozens of gunshots as a shootout involving officers broke out in the streets.
The driver of a red Ford SUV collided with a wall separating the scene from a row of homes. Witnesses say more than a half-dozen vehicles converged on vehicle and the suspect, who appeared to have been hit with an unknown number of bullets. Police say officers noticed devices inside the vehicle that looked like pipe bombs.
The bomb squad was called in and a nearby shopping center was closed down while technicians sent robots to examine the vehicle for possible explosives.
Robots were initially sent to examine the vehicle around 9:30 p.m., but by 11:15 p.m. police say their search had uncovered seven pipe bombs and two guns. Then, the surrounding area was evacuated, while the bomb squad began detonating several pipe bomb-like devices individually.
San Diego Police did not offer further details about how police got involved in the initial gunfight with suspect, or why the man was being monitored by law enforcement.
A tarp was on the ground near the SUV covering what appeared to be the body of the shot suspect. As of this report, the identity of the SUV's driver remained unconfirmed by law enforcement.
The Escondido Police Department Homicide Unit will handle the
investigation moving forward, according to the San Diego Police
Department.