Vigilante Mistakes Calif. Deputies for Fleeing Suspects, Opens Fire

A man tried taking the law into his own hands and fired his gun at deputies thinking they were “fleeing suspects” in California, authorities said.

Before the shooting, deputies responded to a security alarm at 1:26 a.m. Oct. 31 at a Pick-N-Pull in Stockton, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.

Deputies followed after three suspects and took cover behind a cement wall separating a Buddhist temple and a residence, authorities said.

The homeowner’s security alerted him, and he sent out his grandson to investigate, deputies said.

The grandson grabbed an AR-15 and got in a golf cart “mistakenly believing he was tracking the fleeing suspects,” deputies said.

He then fired his weapon twice at the deputies who were on the Buddhist temple’s property, authorities said.

The deputies weren’t injured in the shooting.

They arrested the grandson on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, possession of an assault weapon, possession of a high-capacity magazine and possession of a silencer.

“Taking the law into your own hands can escalate conflicts and lead to tragic outcomes,” deputies said. “We are grateful that our deputies returned home safely to their families.”

Stockton is about a 50-mile drive southeast of Sacramento.

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