A deputy investigating an emergency call in Olivenhain Friday fatally shot a man who emerged from a home carrying a long-barreled gun, authorities said.
The events that led to the deadly shooting began shortly before 9:30 a.m., when someone dialed 911 at a residence on Shadytree Lane near Glen Arbor Drive, then hung up without saying anything, according to sheriff's officials.
Deputies went to the neighborhood, where they spoke to a resident of the house from which the call had been made, Lt. John Maryon told reporters. The woman told the patrol personnel that her 56-year-old husband was inside with a shotgun, saying he wanted to die.
A neighbor then informed the deputies that the distraught man was in a nearby grassy area behind some homes at the terminus of the dead-end street, armed with a shotgun. They went to the spot, finding the man sitting on the ground with the weapon pointed at himself, Maryon said.
"When the deputy ordered (him) to drop the shotgun, he told the deputy to shoot him and began to point the shotgun in the direction of the deputy," the lieutenant said. "Fearing for his safety, one deputy fired several rounds from his issued AR-15 rifle, striking the (man) an unknown amount of times."
The resident fell, then again tried to point the shotgun at the deputy, prompting him to open fire a second time, according to sheriff's officials.
Witnesses described hearing a total of four shots.
The wounded man, who did not fire his gun, died at the scene. His name was withheld pending full family notification.
Deputies had been called out to the same house earlier in the week and had been apprised that there was " a history of weapons" there, Maryon said.
The deputy who fired on the man has been employed by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department for less than five years, the lieutenant said. His name was not immediately released.