Police fatally shoot suspect at apartment complex, say man pointed gun at officers

Pittsburg police shot and killed a 31-year-old man allegedly armed with a gun at an apartment complex Thursday night.

The shooting occurred at apartments in the 2300 block of Loveridge Road, where officers had responded to a report of a man holding a handgun and banging on the front door of his ex-girlfriend’s unit, police said.

Officers contacted the man on a stairway leading to the second floor of the complex and asked him to walk down the stairs, but he allegedly ignored their commands and began walking back up the stairs away from them.

As the man reached the top of the stairs, officers noticed he had a handgun in his right hand and directed him to get on the ground and drop the weapon, but he allegedly turned toward the officers and pointed the gun at them, prompting two officers to open fire, striking him, police said.

The man fell to the ground, still holding the gun, and officers spent several minutes asking him to drop it to give him medical attention but he did not respond, according to police. The officers eventually detained him and attempted live-saving measures until paramedics arrived, but the man succumbed to his injuries at the scene.

Police recovered a handgun at the scene and are not yet releasing the man’s name. The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office will be investigating the shooting as well as a Pittsburg police independent outside investigator, as is department policy.

Police said they will be releasing body camera footage of the shooting in the coming days as well as the names of the officers involved.