3 Injured In Officer Involved Shooting In Huntington Beach

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA — Two Huntington Beach police officers and a suspect were shot during a confrontation Thursday morning, according to police. Huntington Beach Police Chief Robert Handy said two officers were wounded in the event.

"Officers responded shortly after 7 a.m. to the area of Deleware Street and Utica Avenue on reports of a man with a knife," police said.

Witnesses said a person was running around slashing tires and was talking about a sharp shooter, according to Handy.

An officer involved shooting occurred during the confrontation leaving two police officers injured. The suspect was shot by police and taken to UCI Medical Center, according to reports.

It is not clear if the officers were wounded with a knife or were shot, however, the police officers and suspect were all reported in stable condition.

"When our officers arrived in the area, they were on foot searching for the suspect. They found him between two homes in a walkway, and an officer-involved shooting ensued.... Two of our officers were injured in the gunfire. Both of them thankfully received minor injuries," the chief said. "They're both being treated and will be released this morning from local hospitals. I just visited with both of them. They're both in good spirits and their injuries are -- for gunshot wounds they're relatively minor. So both officers are doing well."

Handy said the suspect was also shot and was being treated for non-life- threatening injuries. His name was not released.

The chief said a knife was recovered at the scene. According to a release from Orange County Sheriff's Department, the firearms wounds were from "friendly fire."

"All of this information I'm talking about is very preliminary," he said. "What we do know now is there's a knife recovered from the suspect at the scene and the investigators are looking to see if he had another kind of weapon or any of that."

Orange County sheriff's detectives investigated the shooting, and according to preliminary reports, the two officers involved did sustain friendly fire gunshot wounds.

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