Thousand Oaks man in critical condition after being shot by Ventura County Sheriff’s deputy

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – A 50-year-old Thousand Oaks man is in critical condition after he was shot by a deputy with the Thousand Oaks Police Department during a public disturbance response Thursday.

On Oct. 24, around 6:22 a.m., deputies from the Thousand Oaks Police Department responded to the Ventu Park Shopping Center in the 500 block of Ventu Park Road for a reported disturbance in the area stated the Ventura County Sheriff's Office in a press release about the incident Friday.

Before the arrival of deputies, the call was elevated to a suspect threatening people with a machete shared the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

According to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, deputies attempted to detain a man holding a machete in his hand, but he was non-compliant and a deputy fired a taser, but it was ineffective and the man fled the scene on foot.

The man then entered a business in the shopping center and began to approach employees in a threatening manner while still holding the machete explained the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

A deputy then opened fire on the man and deputies rendered aid at the scene before the man was transported by ambulance where he remains in critical condition as of Friday stated the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

No deputies were injured during the incident shared the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

According to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, its Major Crimes Unit is now investigating alongside the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

The deputy who opened fire was placed on administrative leave which is standard protocol when a deputy is part of an officer-involved shooting incident explained the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

After an investigation, deputies learned that earlier in the day, the man had used the machete to break a window of a room at the Palm Garden Hotel detailed the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

According to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, the man then walked to 76 Gas Station where he assaulted a man with the machete and took the man's vehicle.

The carjacked man suffered minor injuries shared the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

The 50-year-old then left the stolen vehicle before confronting another man who was inside his parked car in the parking lot of the Ventu Shopping Center and used the machete to vandalize the man's parked car detailed the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

In compliance with California state law, body-worn footage will be released within 45 days of the incident and anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Francisco Jaurengui at 805-384-4737.