SANTA MARIA, Calif- One person is dead after a shooting involving a Santa Barbara County Sheriff's deputy Thursday morning.
_______________________________
Click here to see pictures from the scene
__________________________________
An eye witness told Central Coast News that they saw deputies chasing a red car into town. The witness said the car pulled over into the 7/11 parking lot on Broadway and the suspect got out of the car and ran towards officers. The witness said that is when deputies shot the suspect and killed him.
Broadway is closed in both directions between Agnes and McElhaney. Bunny is closed between Lincoln and McClelland Street.
News Release from the Sheriff's Department
The Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office is investigating an officer involved shooting in Santa Maria this morning that resulted in the death of a parolee at large.
The incident began at approximately 8:15am on Thursday, June 28, 2012, near Bunny Avenue and Lincoln Street. That is where deputies with the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office and officers with the Santa Maria Police Department, who were working on a joint investigation, began following a vehicle that contained a passenger who was a known parolee at large.
As the vehicle approached North Broadway it suddenly stopped and the parolee, who is a documented gang member, jumped out of the car and began running westbound. Within moments, there were multiple gunshots fired. At least one bullet hit the parolee killing him at the scene. No one else was injured.
The decedent was an adult male in his 20's who was armed with a handgun at the time of his death. His name is not being released pending notification of his next of kin. The names of the officers and deputies involved will not be released at this time.
The Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office will handle the investigation as detectives determine the circumstances of the incident, including how many shots were fired and by whom. Two other occupants, who were also in the vehicle, are being interviewed by investigators.
Due to the early stage of the investigation there is no other information being released at this time.
