Sheriff’s deputies fatally shot a Black man following a struggle outside a hotel in San Clemente Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.
Two deputies with the department’s homeless outreach team made contact with the man outside Hotel Miramar, at 2222 S. El Camino Real, at about 1:12 p.m., according to Orange County sheriff’s spokesperson Carrie Braun.
The shooting occurred roughly three minutes later, Braun said.
A physical altercation broke out while deputies were speaking to the man, and surveillance video shows the man tried to “gain control of one of the deputies’ guns,” Braun said.
At least one deputy opened fire, striking him.
Braun said the department is not releasing the surveillance footage.
A witness told the Orange County Register the man appeared to have both hands in the air while a deputy took aim at him. She then saw deputies tackle the man on the other side of the street, and heard gunshots moments later.
“I heard two shots, and it was after he was on the ground,” the woman, Chloe Miller, said.
It was unclear what prompted deputies to speak with the man in the first place, and how the situation turned violent.
No further details about the shooting or the man’s identity were available Wednesday, Braun said.
Orange County District Attorney’s Office will investigate the deadly use of force.
