Suspect killed after 'ambush' attack on officer in Fremont, police say

FREMONT, Calif. (KGO) -- A Fremont police captain said this morning that his officers were justified in shooting and killing a man last night.

"We, as an organization, do not like to use deadly force. Understand that. We train our officers with less lethal tools, we train them in de-escalation. But you have to understand this was an incident where deadly force was appropriate. "This individual tried to kill three Fremont police officers who were just trying to protect the community," said Captain Fred Bobbitt.

He said this all started at 10:50 last night when an officer was driving down Civic Center Drive in Fremont in front of Washington Hospital when someone shot at him. The captain called it an ambush.

RELATED: Audio reveals moments after 'ambush attack' on Fremont cop

"He noticed a lone male emerge from the east side of Civic Center, pointed a firearm and fired rounds at our officer. The officer's vehicle was actually struck by gunfire. The officer made an immediate u-turn, came to a stop, got out of his vehicle, deployed his rifle and engaged the suspect. The officer did fire at the suspect and the suspect fell to the ground," he said.

Two other officers in the area then arrived on the scene. They saw the man on the ground, waving his arms, and ordered him to be still.

"The suspect crawled toward the firearm, grabbed the firearm, pointed it at our officer and both of our officers fired at the suspect, striking him," the captain said. The man was eventually pronounced dead.

Police say they do not know the motivation behind the attack on the officer. They have not released any information about the man. They do plan to release video from the officers' body cameras in the next few days.

No officers or bystanders were injured. This happened in front of Washington Hospital.