About a dozen other hikers were nearby Sunday morning when a young man running down the popular Cowles Mountain trail in San Carlos stopped and fired a gun at a group of young men holding rocks who were chasing him and his female companion, according to a witness.
San Diego police initially identified the gunfire suspect as a woman, but on Tuesday a police spokesperson confirmed that officers had arrested a 19-year-old man in connection with the shooting, which did not result in any injuries. The incident remained under investigation Tuesday, San Diego police Lt. Daniel Meyer said.
“At this time, we would not consider this incident to create an ongoing public safety issue at Cowles Mountain, but as always, would encourage the public to stay aware of their surroundings and call police if needed,” Meyer said.
Police said Sunday that the shooting occurred around 10:45 a.m. on the heavily trafficked trail that’s part of Mission Trails Regional Park and leads to the highest point in the city of San Diego. Police said the suspect, though initially misidentified as a woman, had used an un-serialized “ghost gun.”
The witness, who asked not to be identified out of concern for his family’s safety, said the shooter was a young man accompanied by a young woman. He said the pair came rushing down the mountain with a group of other young men in pursuit when the first man stopped, turned and fired four shots. The witness, who did not see what started the altercation or pursuit, later observed the shooter and his companion in police custody near the trailhead, he said.
Meyer confirmed the suspected shooter was arrested and booked into jail but said his female companion was not arrested. Jail records showed the suspected gunman was arrested on suspicion of four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts related to unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon and one count related to possession of a gun without a federal serial number.
A spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office said the suspect posted bail and was released from jail, and the charges against him will be announced at an arraignment scheduled for next Tuesday.
The witness, who provided photos of shell casings on the mountain and screenshots of his call logs to 911, said his wife and teenage son were caught between the two groups when the shots were fired on an area of the trail that was about 6 feet wide. The witness said his wife and older son crouched behind some shrubs on the side of the trail while he and his younger son, who had been hiking about 50 feet ahead, looked on helplessly.
“I was in disbelief … it just makes no sense and is the last thing you expect to see,” the witness said.
The witness and his family had hiked roughly one-third of the way up the 1.5-mile trail when they heard a commotion above and ahead of them on the dirt and rock path, he said. As the witness and one son stood on a boulder waiting for his wife and other son to catch up, they heard the commotion getting closer, including voices yelling “get back here.”
That’s when a young man and young woman ran past them being chased by a group of four or five young men holding rocks roughly the size of softballs, the witness said. A little farther down the hill, the pair being chased appeared to drop a water bottle and stopped to pick it up.
The witness said he then heard the young woman pleading with the young man to “stop.”
“It never would have occurred to me she was yelling for him not to shoot a gun,” the witness said, but moments later he saw the man fire two shots at the people chasing him.
The shooter was roughly 20 to 25 feet away from the group that had been chasing him when he fired, according to the witness, who said about 10 or 12 other hikers were in the area. He said that after the first two shots, there was a pause, and the young men who had been chasing the pair taunted the man about his aim.
The man fired two more shots, and then the young couple took off running down the mountain again, the witness said. He said the young men chasing the pair asked other hikers in the area if they’d been hit, then took off after the man and woman again.
The witness said that after checking with his family and others in the area to ensure nobody was hurt, he called 911 and reported what happened; he was asked to stay in the area until officers arrived. As the witness and his family hugged, cried and comforted each other, he said other hikers in the area helped locate shell casings and preserve them for police.
Several minutes later, the witness said a police helicopter began circling the area, and two officers later hiked up the mountain to the shooting scene to speak with witnesses and look for evidence.
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