One person died after being shot and fatally wounded by a Lompoc police officer on Sunday night, according to limited information from the Lompoc Police Department.
Shortly after 8 p.m., Lompoc police were dispatched to a report of a person walking northbound on H Street while carrying a handgun, Sgt. Vincent Magallon said.
The caller described the subject and told emergency dispatchers that the person was last seen in the alley between the 100 blocks of North H and North G streets, Magallon added.
Officers responded to the area and located the subject.
There was a police shooting, and the person was fatally wounded and pronounced deceased at the scene, Lompoc police said.
“They were armed,” Chief Joe Mariani said of the person who was shot. “And we know that officers have to meet a criteria in order to use deadly force. Preliminarily, all indications are that criteria was met and they shot in defense of life.”
At the request of Lompoc police, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office responded and assumed the responsibility for investigating the circumstances that led to the shooting.
Sheriff’s detectives were at the scene Monday morning, as police caution tape continued to block the alley from north of the old Lompoc Theatre to south of the former bank building. Barricades also blocked off a segment of East Walnut Avenue between North H and North G streets.
The name of the decedent will be withheld until family members have been notified.
The police chief said the person killed was a local resident.
Two officers have been placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation, the chief said, which is standard procedure following a shooting. He added that the officers are expected to return to duty at some point.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 805.681.4100 or submit an anonymous tip by clicking here.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.