Off-duty sheriff's deputy shot at daughter's event in Union City

UNION CITY, Calif. (KGO) -- An off-duty Alameda County Sheriff's deputy was shot while attending his child's event at a Union City school over the weekend. The deputy will be able to recover from his injury.

The 53-year-old deputy was in plain clothes and was at James Logan High School Saturday night as a volunteer parent for a color guard competition. Investigators say around 8:15 p.m. he saw three individuals in an area they shouldn't have been and when he asked them to move, one of them shot him.

A suspect sketch was released of one of the three men.

It happened on H Street near Colgate Drive as the school hosted a statewide color guard invitational.

New Haven Unified School District spokesperson John Mattos said, "There was a lot of people. It was a big event."

Union City police say a volunteer parent, who happened to be an off-duty Alameda County Sheriff's deputy, noticed three men in a locked partition of the school. Investigators say he flashed his badge and asked the men to leave.

One of the men told the off-duty deputy to stop following them and pulled out a gun. According to Union City police, when the off-duty deputy turned around, one of the men shot him in the leg.

The off-duty deputy was treated at a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries. He was armed at the time, but police investigators said he did not display his firearm.

Mattos said, "It was pretty clear right off the bat that it wasn't anything that happened in the pavilion with the students."

The district spokesperson says parents were notified by phone message and employees by email. The campus was locked down temporarily.

Mattos explained, "It's an event that's separate and I'm hoping everybody feels safe and I know both school and district staff are working to make sure everybody does feel safe."

Union City police have a vague description of the suspects as thinly built Hispanic men ages 18- 23 wearing dark clothes.