A man armed with an assault-style rifle was shot and wounded after authorities say he entered a secure area of the Rialto Police Department.
The incident occurred Monday afternoon at the police station, located at 128 N. Willow Ave.
Officials said that around 4:30 p.m., an officer pulled into a secure parking lot at the station and was unaware of a suspect in a black Dodge Charger who had followed him into the lot.
Video of the incident shows the suspect, rifle in hand, quickly approaching the police officer, who was still inside his vehicle.
When the officer saw the suspect, he exited his vehicle. The man then attempted to run away, but not before turning and pointing the gun at the officer again.
Rialto Police Chief Mark Kling said that the officer, a three-year veteran of the department, feared for his life and opened fire, striking the suspect several times, according to the Associated Press.
Additional Rialto Police officers can be seen in the video coming out of the station with guns drawn.
Police provided medical care to the suspect, who was taken to a nearby hospital where he is in stable condition.
“The brazenness of criminals in today’s society is just overwhelming to me,” Chief Mark Kling said during a press conference. “I’ve been doing this for 37 years and in 37 years, I would’ve never ever thought that somebody would’ve come in, armed with some type of a weapon and assaulted our police officers. And I think what is so concerning is it’s just not here in the City of Rialto. It’s happening everywhere.”
Investigators did not provide the identity of the suspect but said that he’s a resident of San Bernardino and that they hope to be able to question him soon.
No officers were injured during the incident.
