One dead after officer-involved shooting

Police are investigating an officer-involved shooting that took place after a vehicle pursuit in Concord Wednesday night, a police spokesman said.

Concord officers were responding to the area of Sun Valley Mall at 8:43 p.m. to help Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Deputies pursue a stolen vehicle, according to Concord police spokesman Lt. David Hughes.

The man driving the stolen vehicle abandoned the car at Sun Valley Mall and fled on foot eastward towards the nearby Willows Shopping Center, located across from Interstate Highway 680. The suspect tried to carjack two other vehicles and failed, but he ultimately gained control of a car on his third attempt, Hughes said.

Concord police confronted the suspect in the rear of the shopping center’s parking lot before he could flee. The suspect then used the recently stolen vehicle to ram into a police car, according to Hughes. Officers shot the suspect several times in defense of themselves and the public, Hughes said.

Police immediately called in emergency medical aid, but the suspect died from his injuries.

A multijurisdictional team of investigators from the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department Crime Lab, and the Concord Police Department were called to the scene and are jointly investigating the incident, Hughes said.

The identity of the suspect, who was a multiple convicted felon, will not be released until his family is notified of the shooting. Anyone with any additional information pertaining to this case is asked to call Detective Greg Pardella at (925) 603-5922. Anonymous tips can be left at (925) 603-5836.