Officer involved shooting in Eureka leaves one man dead, investigation launched

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EUREKA, Calif. (KIEM) — An officer involved shooting at a Eureka home leaves one man dead and now, a multi-agency team has been called in to investigate.

It started shortly after 5:15 pm Thursday night when Eureka Police say they received a call about a man making suicidal threats over text message and possibly in possession of a firearm. This at a home on the 2800 block of Lowell Street.

Officers tried to contact the man, and because of the severity of the threats a perimeter was set up. At this point, an emergency alert was sent out to residents in the area warning them to stay indoors.

A county mental health crisis negotiator responded to the scene. Both officers and the negotiator tried to talk to the man for nearly 2 hours all while the man continued making threats. At about 7:49 pm, officers heard what appeared to be gunshots coming from the backyard of the home. Negotiations continued and police say the man was seen in the backyard with a firearm.

Then at about 8:23 pm, the man exited his yard into the alley where officers were and was armed with a gun. Police say the man refused to comply with orders to drop the weapon and aimed it near officers. An officer then fired and an officer involved shooting took place.

Area witnesses report hearing multiple rounds of gunfire at 2 separate times in the night, in which 6 to 10 shots were overheard. The man was immediately taken to the hospital where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries. No officers were injured during the incident.

And now, the multi-agency critical incident response team has been called out, which is made up of representatives from different county law enforcement agencies with specific training in homicide and officer involved shooting investigations.

According to Eureka Police, this is an active investigation and further information will be released as available.