The annual San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon was halted for approximately 30 minutes Sunday, with police apprehending a hit-and-run suspect who was thought to be armed at a parking structure near the finish line. The race resumed after a 58-year-old woman was taken into custody, with the only reported injury a leg wound suffered by a police officer who accidentally shot himself while pursuing the suspect.
The episode unfolded between 10:45 a.m. and noon local time, and thousands of runners who had yet to finish the race were moved to a designated “safe zone” at San Diego City College until authorities declared the matter under control. Police said another officer fired at least one shot that missed the suspect, identified as Mona Elease Williams, before she threw what was reported to be an airgun down to the street from the top of the structure.
Reports at the time of the incident had many at the marathon, which finished in downtown San Diego amid thousands of participants and spectators, initially fearful that an active shooter, possibly a sniper, had taken up a position atop a building overlooking the finish line. Police later said that Williams pointed a gun at an officer when he approached the car while it was briefly stopped at the entrance to the parking facility.
San Diego Chief of Police David Nesleit told reporters that there was no connection between the incident and the marathon. He said it started when a police sergeant working the marathon was flagged down by the victim of a hit-and-run, who pointed out the car being driven by Williams. Police are still awaiting reviews of body-worn cameras to get a better sense of what took place during the pursuit and arrest of Williams.
“We are incredibly grateful for the quick response and partnership with first responders as we worked together to keep our athletes safe,” the Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon Series said in a statement.
“There was no panic. No fear. I was a hot mess, but everyone else was calm,” a woman walking the half-marathon course, who was diverted to the college, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. She said of the police, “They kept everyone cool.”
A woman working at the parking facility when the incident occurred had a different reaction, telling CBS San Diego, “I was crying and I was shaking.” She said she “heard two gunshots,” but she did not specify who fired the shots.
“It was crazy,” a woman who was heading to see “Les Miserables” at a theater just off the marathon route told the Associated Press. “It was like police, police, police, siren, siren, siren.”
“I grew up in Chicago, and it was never like this in downtown Chicago, so we knew something was going on,” another theatergoer said to NBC San Diego.
Police said they thought the woman they were pursuing might have been a suspect from a report of kidnapping that morning in nearby Chula Vista, Calif., but that possibility was later ruled out. The officer who accidentally shot himself is expected to make a full recovery.
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