Video: Passenger Fires on Calif. Deputies During Traffic Stop Clash

A traffic stop turned violent last month when an armed passenger opened fire on California deputies before he was fatally shot.

The incident happened just after 9 p.m. Feb. 18 when a San Diego County sheriff's deputy pulled over a vehicle in San Marcos for a code violation, the agency stated in a news release, which included body camera and other footage from the stop. The deputy believed the vehicle was possibly stolen after noticing the steering column was damaged and discovering its registration records didn’t match.

When more deputies and a Palomar College reserve police officer arrived at the scene, the vehicle's 33-year-old passenger—later identified as Andre Raphael Mendez—rolled up his window before grabbing a semiautomatic handgun from the floorboard.

Deputies quickly pulled the 21-year-old driver from the car and moved her to safety while continuing to order Mendez to drop the gun. When Mendez refused and began raise his gun, deputies deployed their Tasers, which were ineffective. 

Mendez then fired off two rounds from inside the car, and deputies and the reserve officer returned fire. Mendez was struck in the exchange, and deputies pulled him from the vehicle to render aid, but he died at the scene.

No deputies were injured, and it was unclear if the driver faced charges stemming from the incident. San Diego police are investigating the shooting.