Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to note the shooting involved a deputy.
OCEANSIDE, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — State Route 76 was closed in both directions for several hours in Bonsall Saturday due to law enforcement activity, authorities said.
The San Diego Sheriff’s Department reported in an update Saturday evening that deputies arrived at the intersection of Mission Road and Via Montellano at 11:37 a.m. after receiving several calls of a man waving a handgun and a knife while walking along SR-76 at Old River Road in Bonsall.
When deputies arrived on the scene, they gave several commands for the man — identified as Patrick Wendell Lowell, 66, of Escondido — to drop the handgun and knife he was holding in each hand while they waited for backup, including a police helicopter and a canine unit.
According to the sheriff’s department, Lowell allegedly refused to drop his weapons and two deputies fired their service weapons multiple times, hitting Lowell in the legs and lower body.
Lowell was taken into custody and given first aid until paramedics arrived to take him to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Traffic was shut down in both directions on SR-76 between Mission Road and Via Montellano, near the Oceanside border, as authorities investigated the incident. Authorities asked the public to avoid the area and find alternative routes while the area was closed.
A Caltrans camera showed motorists being diverted on SR-76 during the response, as seen in the image below.
Lowell faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and an outstanding felony warrant. The weapons were recovered from the scene.
The sheriff’s department said the two deputies involved were not injured during the incident and have been employed by the San Diego Sheriff’s Department for three and five years. Both are currently assigned as patrol deputies from the Vista Patrol Station.
SR-76 fully reopened to traffic by 6 p.m. Saturday, Caltrans said in an update on X.
Deputies with the Vista Sheriff’s Station and Fallbrook Sheriff’s Substation assisted at the scene.
The San Diego Police Department’s Homicide Unit is investigating the deputy-involved shooting per protocol.
Anyone with more information is asked to call the Homicide Unit at 619-531- 2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
