Gun battle outside police headquarters leaves alleged gunman dead
It happened around 8: 30 a.m. in the parking lot in front of the Stockton Police Department Operations Building, according to a police department statement.
Police say the man arrived at the parking lot and began firing a semi-automatic handgun. Several officers then shot at the man, hitting him. Paramedics arrived at the scene and declared him deceased.
“Unfortunately, we’re seeing more cases like this, not just in our area — whether it be ambushes or assaults on police officers or their building or operations buildings. We’ve been seeing an increase of this really nationally and it’s extremely concerning,” said Stockton Police Chief Scott Jones.
Jones said police were forced to fire.
Officers ordered the suspect to drop his gun, but it wasn’t until he charged at officers that they opened fire, said Jones.
No officers were injured during the incident. There were civilians outside the headquarters at the time but they were also unharmed, Jones said.
The incident is under investigation.