What to know
- A Citrus Heights police officer shot and wounded a knife-wielding suspect who charged at him in a shopping center parking lot after refusing commands to drop the weapon.
- The suspect allegedly tried to carjack a vehicle in the parking lot, threatening the driver at knifepoint.
- No officers were injured, and the shooting is under investigation.
By Rosalio Ahumada
Source The Sacramento Bee
The Citrus Heights Police Department on Thursday released video of an officer shooting a man who was wounded by gunfire moments after he ran toward the officer while holding a kitchen knife.
The Police Department released a video of the shooting that was edited and narrated by police. The department did not release the name of the officer who fired his department-issued handgun at John Angel Marmol Elias.
Elias, 28, has since been booked at the Sacramento County Main Jail, where he remained in custody Thursday with his bail amount set at $150,000. He faces a felony charge of attempted carjacking and a misdemeanor charge of resisting or obstructing a police officer.
The police shooting occurred April 21 in the parking lot of a shopping center in the 7800 block of Lichen Drive, just north of Antelope Road in Citrus Heights.
Shortly after 10:30 a.m. that day, officers were called to the shopping center for a report of a man armed with a knife and threatening people, police said.
The video shows officers arrived at the shopping center and found the man, later identified as Elias, holding the knife standing near one of the entrances to the parking. The officer who later shot Elias parked his patrol vehicle in the parking lot.
The officer got out of his vehicle, pulled out his gun and aimed the weapon toward Elias, who was holding the knife in his right hand, the video shows. The officer approached Elias and immediately yelled at him “Drop it!”
The police video, captured on the officer’s body camera, shows that Elias then turned to his right and started running toward the officer. Elias ran toward the officer still holding the knife about one second after the officer ordered him to drop it.
The video shows Elias ran to his right a few feet before he was struck by gunfire and fell forward to the ground, releasing the knife from his hand. The knife fell to the ground a few feet in front of Elias fell.
The officer fired two gunshots at Elias, yelling at Elias two more times to “Drop it!” as the wounded man crawled backward and sat on the ground with his back leaned up against a cement curb. The Police Department did not say whether both gunshots struck Elias.
Police said Elias suffered injuries that were not life-threatening in the shooting and was taken by ambulance to hospital for medical treatment. He was booked at the jail April 27. None of the officers at the scene were injured.
Investigators later learned that Elias tried to carjack a driver at knifepoint in the shopping center parking just before officers arrived, according to the Police Department. Elias had been holding a knife with a 7-inch blade, police said.
The Police Department is investigating the police shooting in collaboration with the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.
Sacramento Superior Court records show that Elias appeared for his arraignment hearing May 13 and pleaded not guilty. Elias is scheduled to return to court June 13.
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