Police fatally shot a man armed with a pellet gun after a domestic disturbance in north O.C.

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Police fatally shot a man armed with a pellet gun after a domestic disturbance in north OC

On March 15, 2025, at 11:51 pm, Police Dispatch received a 9-1-1 call regarding a male armed with knife and threatening a family member in the 700 block of W. Orangethorpe Ave. The reporting party told the call taker his 19-year-old brother had a knife and swung it at his father, according to the Fullerton Police Department.

Fullerton Police Officers arrived on scene and contacted a male adult, matching the provided description outside of the residence on the sidewalk. The male was given several commands by officers, however, was uncooperative with the commands given to him. At one point, the suspect abruptly lifted his shirt and removed what appeared to be a handgun from his waistband. An officer involved shooting then occurred.

Officers began life-saving measures while paramedics responded. The suspect was pronounced deceased at the scene.

A pellet gun resembling a Smith & Wesson handgun was located at the scene in close proximity to the suspect.

At this time, no other parties or Officers were injured.

As standard protocol, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office responded to conduct an independent investigation into the actions of the officers during this officer involved shooting. Fullerton Police Crimes Against Persons Detectives will be investigating potential criminal acts by the suspect.

The deceased suspect’s identity will be released by the Orange County Coroner.

Per State Law, we will be releasing all relevant videos, recordings, and images within 45 days via a Critical Incident Community Briefing Video.

This investigation is on-going. Based on the initial 9-1-1 call, we believe there may be others who may have witnessed or been a victim to the suspect’s actions leading up to this incident. We encourage any additional witnesses or victims to contact Fullerton PD Detective N. Valdes at (714) 738-6754. Those wishing to provide information anonymously can call the Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1(855) TIP-OCCS or can visit their website at www.p3tips.com/913.

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Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions.

When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.