Officers Fatally Shoot Gunman in Shopping Center Parking Lot on California Central Coast
NIPOMO -- Police fatally shot a gunman in a shopping center parking lot on the Central California coast Friday as he fired at them with a handgun, authorities said.
San Luis Obispo County sheriff's deputies received reports of a man firing indiscriminately outside the shopping center in Nipomo around 11:15 a.m., spokesman Tony Cipolla said.
The man, whose identity was withheld pending the notification of his next of kin, went into a gas station building in the parking lot when deputies arrived, Cipolla said. The man allegedly fired a few rounds inside the building before emerging.
He began shooting at police, Cipolla said, and two deputies and an officer from the California Highway Patrol returned fire, killing him.
Police do not yet know how many rounds the man fired in total.
"It's quite the miracle but, at this time, we do not have any reports of anyone being injured," Cipolla said.
Authorities believe the man acted alone.
"We have no idea at this point what his motivation might have been," Cipolla said.
Nipomo is about 170 miles north of Los Angeles along the coast.
© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report
