SAN DIEGO, CA – San Diego police have disclosed the identity of the police sergeant who was critically injured in a shootout at a strip mall in 4S Ranch late on Thursday. The gunfight also resulted in the death of a suspect wanted for auto theft and domestic violence.
As stated by to the San Diego Police Officers Association, Anthony Elliott, who has served with the San Diego Police Department for six years, suffered a severe head injury from a gunshot wound during the incident. He is currently being hospitalized and is in serious condition. However, he is considered to be stable.
The suspect, Curtis Harris of San Diego, allegedly fired at police officers when they tried to make contact with him at the 4S Commons Town Center. Harris was fatally wounded when three officers returned fire. The county Sheriff’s Department, which probes fatal uses of force by SDPD personnel, is carrying out an investigation on the incident. Harris, 46, succumbed to his injuries in a trauma center early Friday morning.
The fatal confrontation reportedly started around 10 p.m. Thursday when police began a manhunt for Harris, who was a subject of an unserved restraining order as well as a suspect in a vehicle theft and a domestic abuse case, according to the sheriff’s Lt. Joseph Jarjura.
Approximately 90 minutes into the search, officers discovered the allegedly stolen vehicle parked at the shopping center in northeastern San Diego.
A plan was then made to serve Harris with the court order, Jarjura explained. However, Harris fled the Ralphs store where the officers had tried to contact him and began firing at the police in the parking lot once outside. This provoked the officers to fire back, leading to Harris’ death.
The identities of the officers who fired at Harris have not been disclosed. On Tuesday morning, the police officers’ association initiated a fundraising campaign via social media to assist Elliott, who continues to receive “critical care,” and his family.
In a message posted on the website, Laura Elliott praised her husband for his honor, selflessness, dedication to the SDPD, and his role as a commendable spouse and father. “The first thing he said to me after he was shot was, `I just want to be able to hold my kids again,” she related.