Officer Christopher A. Wilson
A veteran San Diego police officer was mortally wounded in a gun battle Wednesday night that sparked a seven-hour SWAT standoff at a Skyline apartment and ended with the discovery of two bodies surrounded by firearms in a bedroom.
Officer Christopher A. Wilson, a 50-year-old father of two, was kept alive long enough at Scripps Mercy Hospital in Hillcrest for his family to say goodbye early Thursday.
Wilson, a patrol and field training officer, served his entire 17-year career in southeastern San Diego.
"He was popular, funny, extremely bright and a consummate professional," said San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, who choked back tears at a Thursday morning news conference. "It was routine for other officers to pay him the compliment by calling him 'good cover.' In other words, you always knew Officer Wilson had your back."
Sanders, the city's police chief from 1993 to 1999, said the tragedy is a reminder of the risks officers face daily.
"They perform acts of bravery literally every day," he said. "Every day they go off to work, their families know there's a chance they might never come home."
Wilson is survived by a daughter, Kaylee, 20, and a son, Conner, 17.
Police Chief William Lansdowne said he kept Sanders apprised through the night about what was happening. He said he appreciated having a boss who knew the challenge he faced.
"What do you say to a family at 3 o'clock in the morning, to tell them your loved one is going to lose their life, and you have to take them to the hospital?" Lansdowne said. "You don't have to say anything, because when you show up as chief of police in uniform, they know exactly what's happened."
The incident began at 10:35 p.m. Wednesday when U.S. marshals went to the Canyon View Apartments on South Meadowbrook Drive at Paradise Valley Road looking for a fugitive wanted for assault with a deadly weapon. The two marshals were accompanied by five county probation officers with the gang unit, who were doing a compliance check on a probationer who lives there, said Mack Jenkins, the county's chief probation officer.
When the probation officers and marshals knocked on the door, the probationer opened it and then slammed it shut, said San Diego police Capt. Jim Collins. The officers kicked in the door and took him into custody.
San Diego police were called to help detain others believed to be still inside the two-bedroom apartment, including the fugitive who had run into the master bedroom, Collins said.
Six San Diego officers went inside, where someone opened fire on them from behind the closed bedroom door, hitting Wilson, Collins said. Three of the officers returned fire.
With the shooter still barricaded inside, Wilson was carried down a flight of stairs by three fellow officers. The rookie officer Wilson was training and a K-9 officer, along with his injured dog, were trapped in the unit's other bedroom.
Fearing they might be caught in the line of fire if they left through the door, they climbed out a window and down a ladder to safety. The canine officer carried his partner, Monty, on his shoulder.
The Belgian Malinois was shot in the snout, damaging its teeth and jaw, Lt. Andra Brown said. The dog underwent successful surgery, but it was unknown if he will be able to return to service.
Ryan Davis, who lives in a unit below where the shooting took place, said he had heard the officers yell, "Probation officers!" and call for someone to open the door. He heard gunshots later as more officers converged.
"It had to be at least six to 12 rounds. It sounded like one shotgun, then handguns," Davis said.
Officers radioed for emergency help, bringing about 60 officers from agencies around the county.
SWAT officers took positions around the building and scores of residents were escorted away. Many of them - some in pajamas, some wrapped in blankets, and some barefoot - waited for hours in a parking lot across the street.
A few hours later, a man called 911 and said he and his girlfriend were hiding in a closet in the apartment; they both surrendered.
SWAT officers eventually used explosives to blow a hole through one of the apartment walls in order to use a camera to see inside. About 6:45 a.m., they found the bodies of a man and woman in the master bedroom.
Police do not yet know if they died in the gun battle or if the fatal wounds were self-inflicted. Several firearms were found near them.
The name of the fugitive believed to have been involved in the shootout has not been released, but friends and family identified him as Holim Lee, 30.
Lee's family issued a statement Thursday from their Paradise Hills home: "We are horrified by the circumstances. Our family wants to give Officer Christopher Wilson's family our deepest condolences. We are also mourning and we are so sorry this happened."
Police did not release the names of the others in the apartment. But public records and social networking sites identified the probationer who surrendered as Alex Charfauros, 26. The woman who died was Lucky Xayasene.
