A police pursuit that began in Orange County ended in Oceanside early Saturday with a shooting involving law enforcement that shut down Interstate 5 for hours, authorities said.
Officers with the Buena Park Police Department attempted to pull over a motorist for a vehicle code violation around 12:45 a.m. Sunday near the intersection of La Palma Avenue and San Marino Drive in Buena Park, Sgt. Martin Tomsick said.
The driver took off, leading officers on a pursuit through Orange County, Long Beach and back into Orange County on southbound I-5, Tomsick said.
Officers turned the pursuit over to the California Highway Patrol at 1:05 a.m., but kept their K-9 Unit involved in the chase at the request of the CHP, according to Tomsick.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office dispatched aerial drones at 2:15 a.m. to assist with finding the suspect, according to Lt. Sean Gallagher.
Tomsick said the pursuit ended in gunfire on southbound I-5 in the Camp Pendleton area and that the Buena Park Police Department K-9 officer and at least one CHP officer fired their weapons at a suspect. He had no further information on the suspect’s condition or whether the person who was shot was the driver. It appeared no officers were injured, he said.
I-5 was closed in both directions and a Sigalert was issued shortly after 2:30 a.m. Sunday between Harbor Drive in Oceanside and Cristianitos Road in San Clemente, according to the CHP.
CHP Officer Hunter Gerber said northbound I-5 through Camp Pendleton was partially open for lanes 2-4 as of 9:30 a.m., while the No. 1 lane remained closed. Traffic on southbound I-5 from San Clemente was being diverted to the right shoulder south of Cristianitos Road, according to Gerber, who said the investigation would probably last most of the day.
Motorists were advised to continue to use caution and watch for personnel in the area.