Two Officers on Paid Leave After Fatal Big 5 Shooting

A day after a 22-year-old Watsonville man was shot and killed by officers after he opened fire inside a sporting goods store, two Watsonville police officers are on paid administrative leave while the investigation into continues.

Police also released a few additional details about the dead gunman, whose name will be made public later Wednesday. He led police on a high-speed chase last winter when an officer spotted him driving erratically on Nov. 5, 2010, and tried to pull him over, but the man refused to yield. He was eventually arrested, according to Lt. David McCartney.

The man also has prior arrests for petty theft, McCartney said.

He went into Big 5 around 11 a.m. Tuesday, inquired about purchasing a rifle, looked at two guns and filled out paperwork to do so, but balked when asked for ID, police said. He left the store, then returned moments later with a bag containing an extension cord and tools, including a grinder, police reported.

He broke a shotgun out of its wooden holder and used the grinder to sever a lock that was on the trigger guard, McCartney said.         

While the manager was on the phone with police dispatchers, the man fired at least one shot in her direction as she hid in a locked office, he said.

"She could see him walking around to the front of the store yelling unintelligible statements," McCartney said.

Two other employees were able to flee out a rear exit, he said. There were no customers in the store at the time.

While the man was roaming around, he padlocked the front doors shut using a bicycle lock, McCartney said.

However, when police arrived, five officers were able to open the doors enough to squeeze through.

The officers confronted the man inside the store and demanded that he drop his weapon, McCartney said. The man refused to comply, and two of the officers shot and killed him. McCartney said police fired between two and eight rounds.

They acted in accordance with their training, he said.

It remains unclear what motivated the gunman's actions on Tuesday.

"There was obviously some pre-planning, because he brought his own extension cord to have power to the grinder," McCartney said.

McCartney said police expected to make another statement about Wednesday afternoon.

“We need to accomplish a couple of tasks," McCartney said Wednesday morning.

The store, considered a crime scene, remained closed Wednesday.

Luke Thompson, vice president of Corporate Council for , declined to speak about the shooting.

"We’ve been asked not to comment by the police department," he said.

There's no word on when the store, in the Pajaro Plaza at South Green Valley Road and Main Street, may reopen.

“I think we’re still in the process of sort of evaluating the situation and making the necessary repairs to store,” Thompson said.

At the Watsonville City Council meeting Tuesday evening, Police Chief Manny Solano spoke briefly about the shooting.

“The situation is still involved in a lengthy investigation,” the chief said.

Council members praised the police department's response to the shooting, and Solano commended both Big 5 staff and his officers for their handling of the deadly situation.

—Bay City News Service contributed to this report