West

California cop kills bystander while shooting at suspect

Guadalupe officer opens fire at intersection but misses his target, tragically striking a man sitting in his car.

A California cop’s less than pinpoint aim led to tragedy on Saturday when he opened fire on a suspect but only succeeded in shooting dead an innocent bystander.

In a devastating case of wrong place, wrong time, 59-year-old Juan Luis Olvera-Preciado was sitting in his car at an intersection in Guadalupe when he was struck by the officer’s bullet.

The accidental shooting took place at around 9.40 p.m. Saturday night, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

The officer spotted a suspect wanted on a no-bail felony warrant and decided – for reasons not yet revealed – to use his firearm.

But he missed his intended target, instead hitting Olvera-Preciado, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect was arrested shortly afterwards, according to ABC News.

The suspect and the officer have not yet been named.

California law requires that shootings involving the death of an unarmed civilian are investigated by the state attorney general’s office, according to Guadalupe Police Chief Michael Cash.

Cash “met personally with the Olvera-Preciado family to offer his condolences and to coordinate support services,” the sheriff’s office said.

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