On December 6, 2025, at about 9:32 p.m., two police officers conducting gang-suppression patrols attempted to contact several individuals on S. Philadelphia Street, according to the Anaheim Police Department.
The group ran toward a nearby residence, and the officers pursued.
During the encounter, officers attempted to detain 19-year-old Alberto Arzola, and a struggle occurred. One officer discharged his firearm, and Mr. Arzola was pronounced deceased at the scene. A loaded assault-style firearm (pictured) was recovered next to him.
A crowd formed immediately after the shooting, complicating efforts to identify witnesses and ensure no one inside the residence had been injured.
About fifteen minutes after the shooting, 18-year-old Emmanuel Cordova jumped from the backyard into the front yard and ignored commands. A single less-lethal beanbag round was deployed, and he was treated at the hospital for a minor injury.
A video circulating online shows the less-lethal incident involving Mr. Cordova, not the shooting of Mr. Arzola.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Anaheim Police Department detectives, Internal Affairs, and the Major Incident Review Team are conducting independent reviews.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS.
Body-worn camera footage and other related videos will be released in the near future.
Orange County CSO, an organization that says they fightifor Chicano/x self-determination in Orange County, is asking supporters to show up to a public meeting set for tonight, Dec. 15, at 6:30 p.m., at the Anaheim City Hall bulding located at 200 S. Anaheim Blvd., in Anaheim.
Anti-police activists are alleging that Arzola had his hands up when he was shot and that he was not armed.
Sadly, why would anyone want to be a police officer now days? You have to deal with crap like this, and many times, mob rule runs both the streets your supposed to protect, and the media who are supposed to inform. Less so in OC, but add to the mix a career-minded prosecutors seizing the political opportunity to charge a police officer with murder in a racially charged incident, and your very liberty is at risk. What a broken society.