An armed man was shot after running at police officers in north Orange County

On June 15, 2024, at 5:04 am, Fullerton Police Dispatch received a 9-1-1 call regarding a male armed with knives and threatening people in the 200 block of E. Imperial Hwy. The reporting party told the call taker he was a victim of weapon brandishing and to send multiple officers due to the male’s dangerous behavior.

Fullerton Police Officers arrived on scene and contacted a male adult, matching the provided description, holding what appeared to be a knife in each hand. The male was directed multiple times to drop his weapons, however, was uncooperative with the commands given to him. The male suddenly began running towards officers with the knives in his hands and failed to comply with commands to stop. An officer involved shooting then occurred.

Officers began life-saving measures while paramedics responded. The suspect was transported to a local trauma center where he was later pronounced deceased.

A knife and a boxcutter were located at the scene in close proximity to the suspect (pictured below).

At this time, we have no information about any injuries to witnesses or potential victims of this incident. No officers were injured.

As standard protocol, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office responded to conduct an independent investigation into the actions of the officers during this officer involved shooting. Fullerton Police Crimes Against Persons Detectives will be investigating potential criminal acts by the suspect.

The deceased suspect’s identity will be released by the Orange County Coroner.

Per State Law, we will be releasing all relevant videos, recordings, and images within 45 days via a Critical Incident Community Briefing Video.

This investigation is on-going. Based on the initial 9-1-1 call, we believe there may be others who may have witnessed or been a victim to the suspect’s actions leading up to this incident. We encourage any additional witnesses or victims to contact Fullerton PD Detective L. Ramirez at (714) 738-5334. Those wishing to provide information anonymously can call the Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1(855) TIP-OCCS or can visit their website at www.p3tips.com/913.