UPDATED: Deadly Officer-Involved Shooting in Santa Maria
SANTA MARIA – Police in Santa Maria have released the identity of the man killed in an officer-involved shooting last night. Police say the suspect, 50-year-old Robert Guzman, went on a rampage. We’re told he stabbed his wife before heading out into the streets, terrifying residents in the area.Diego Salazar woke up late Sunday night to the sound of his dog barking, “I knew someone was in my back yard.”He found a woman there who’d been stabbed in the chest, “asking for help…her husband had stabbed her…we took her inside and called 911.”When police arrived, they say the woman’s husband, Guzman, came at them with a long handled hedge trimmer.That’s when they opened fire, shooting and killing him.”We heard gunshots, stayed in the house, and locked the door,” says Salazar.Guzman’s wife was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive.According to Police Chief Ralph Martin, this was not the first time Guzman had had a run in with the law. Officers had been called to the home dozens of times over the past ten years.This is, however, the first officer-involved shooting in the city this year. Last year, the city’s police department was involved in five shootings, raising concern over the former Chief Dan Macagni’s leadership. The Santa Maria Police Association took a vote of no confidence in Macagni.He retired, just days after being placed on administrative leave. KEY News spoke with Chief Martin. He’s confident the officers acted appropriately.The shooting is now under investigation by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.The names of the officers involved in the shooting are not yet being released.(Previous Story)SANTA MARIA – Police officers shot and killed a man late Sunday night.A police official confirmed to KEY news that officers responded to a domestic violence call just before midnight on the 1100 block of East Sunset. Authorities say when they arrived on scene, they found a woman with stab wounds. Once inside the home, officers were confronted by a man armed with a knife.Officers shot and killed the man when they felt their lives were in danger, according to the police official. The woman was taken to the local hospital for treatment. Police say she is expected to be okay.