A man died following an officer-involved shooting at a parking structure in Santa Ana late Sunday night.
Police responded to a call about 11:40 p.m. regarding someone possibly breaking into cars at the structure between the Orange County Sheriff's Department and the police department on Civic Center Drive, Santa Ana Police Department Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.
Arriving officers found a man holding a large object, which Bertagna described as a metal stake of some kind.
One officer attempted to use a Taser on the man, but an officer-involved shooting then occurred, Bertagna said.
It was unclear what led to the shooting.
The man struck by the gunfire was taken to a local hospital, where he later died. Officials have not released the man’s identity but he was described as being in his 30s.
It was unclear how many times he was shot in the incident. The investigation was in the early stages.
“We do know that there was a 18- to 24-inch metal rod next to the suspect,” Bertagna said. “How that played into it, that’s something that they’re looking into as well.”
Investigators plan to review the officers' body camera footage.
Surveillance video from the parking structure and nearby police and sheriff’s departments should also be available. “We have video cameras everywhere,” Bertagna said.
The officers involved in the incident had not been interviewed as of Monday morning.