Police shot and killed a man accused of murder early Saturday morning on a popular pier in Orange County.
According to the Menifee Police Department, officers responded to reports of gunshots in the 25000 block of Mesa Edge Court in Menifee at about 2:43 a.m. Soon after, officers found the body of 38-year-old Storm Wolf. The Temecula resident was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities later identified Jose Velasquez, 45 of Menifee and an “acquaintance” of Wolf, as the suspect in her death. He fled the scene before police arrived
Officers discovered that he may have been heading toward the city of Santa Ana. Officers with the Santa Ana Police Department then found him in his vehicle, which then led to a pursuit.
Velasquez eventually led the officers to the city of Newport Beach at around 6:50 a.m., when officers from the Newport Beach Police Department were contacted.
The pursuit ended at the Newport Pier, authorities said. At that point, an unknown number of officers opened fire on Velasquez, killing him.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. No officers or bystanders were injured.
Video obtained by KTLA from Instagram user @raythelover showed a grey SUV speeding down the pier, which was crowded with pedestrians. Several police squad cars followed, and more than a dozen gunshots could be heard.
It’s not immediately clear if Velasquez shot at police, or who fired the first shots. Police didn’t say where the alleged homicide occurred.
Sofia Pop Perez contributed to this report.
