A Lodi police officer opened fire on an armed person inside the McDonald’s at 200 W. Lodi Avenue on Monday morning after officers responding to 911 calls reportedly heard screaming and gunshots coming from within the restaurant. The shooting happened around 9:30 a.m. following reports that an armed individual was actively threatening employees inside the fast-food location.
Officers who arrived at the scene heard screaming and gunshots from inside the McDonald’s before a Lodi officer shot the armed suspect, according to a statement from Lodi Police Sgt. Matt Latino relayed by Stocktonia. Police had not immediately disclosed the suspect’s identity or medical condition. It also remains unclear whether any employees or bystanders were struck, or whether the suspect fired at officers, details that officials have not yet confirmed.
A customer waiting in the drive-thru line described seeing six to ten police cars converge on the restaurant before hearing a gunshot, while a worker inside ducked for cover, the outlet reported. Drive-thru customers were redirected away from the area as officers moved in. In the aftermath, law enforcement personnel cordoned off the parking lot at West Lodi Avenue and Church Street, placing evidence markers around an item of clothing found on the ground, and the intersection remained blocked off through the afternoon.
District Attorney Announces Multi-Agency Investigation
Later Monday, the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office announced it is leading the investigation into the officer-involved shooting, according to a statement posted by San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office on Facebook. The office said the probe involves the Lodi Police Department, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, the county Medical Examiner’s Office, and the California Department of Justice, and that District Attorney Ron Freitas’s office is on scene in Lodi as part of what the statement called a standard multi-agency protocol…