Police shoot man suspected of attacking family with pole

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A San Diego police officer shot and killed a man suspected of attacking his two aunts with a metal pole on Tuesday, authorities said.

Police responding around 8 a.m. to reports of an assault found two women, ages 73 and 79, injured at a home in the City Heights neighborhood, sheriff’s Lt. Chris Steffan said.

The women had argued with their 48-year-old nephew, who attacked them with a pole, according to Steffan.

The man locked himself inside a bathroom and police used pepper spray and then deployed a K-9 to try and get the man to come out. Steffan said as the dog helped police get into the bathroom, the man brandished a sharp object and that’s when officers opened fire.

The exact actions taken by the suspect and police before the shooting are still under investigation, the lieutenant said.

The unidentified man was taken to a hospital where he died of his injuries.

One woman suffered a cut to the head and the other a cut to her neck, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Both were hospitalized and are expected to recover, Steffan said.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident per a new countywide protocol that ensures no law enforcement agencies investigate shootings involving their own officers, the Union-Tribune said.

There is body-worn camera footage of the incident, Steffan said.