Off-duty Santa Ana officer shoots suspected robber
The officer watched an armed man enter a 7-Eleven and confronted him afterward, shooting in self-defense, police say.
A man was in critical condition today after an off-duty Santa Ana police officer shot him in self-defense after seeing him rob a 7-Eleven convenience store and confronting him, police said.
At about 12:50 p.m. the officer parked in front of a 7-Eleven at 17th and Flower streets saw a man "pull a hood over his face and arm himself with a handgun" before entering the store, said Cpl. Jose Gonzalez of the Santa Ana Police Department.
"The officer stayed outside the store during what he believed was a robbery and called in the incident to dispatch," Gonzalez said. The officer then followed the man to a house on the 1400 block of North Flower Street, where he identified himself.
The man then ran up the driveway grabbing his waistband, Gonzalez said, at which point, "the officer, fearing for his safety, fired multiple shots, striking him in the upper torso."
The man was taken to a hospital, where he remained in critical but stable condition, Gonzalez said.
"Thankfully the officer was uninjured, and the Orange County district attorney's office along with the Santa Ana Police Department detectives are all on scene to conduct this ongoing investigation," he added.
tami.abdollah@latimes.com
