‘Bloody’ suspect shot by Orange County deputy after 2 people, dog found dead in San Juan Capistrano

An Orange County deputy shot a “bloody male” suspect Tuesday morning in San Juan Capistrano after deputies found two elderly people and a dog dead in a nearby home, according to officials.

Deputies responded to a report of a domestic assault at a mobile-home community in the 32000 block of Alipaz Street at 7:36 a.m., where they found the bodies of a 77-year-old man, a 79-year-old woman and a dog, Orange County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Matt Parrish said. The names of the victims were not released pending notification of next of kin, and the cause of their deaths is under investigation.

In a news release, the department said investigators believe that all three deaths were caused by a 41-year-old man who is related to the two people killed. The suspect’s name was not released pending notification of the victims’ next of kin, and his exact relationship to them was not yet confirmed.

While deputies were at the scene, a second call came in to authorities reporting that the suspect, described at the time as a “bloody male,” was chasing a maintenance worker in the mobile-home community and had stolen a golf cart, the Sheriff’s Department said. A community services officer for the Sheriff’s Department encountered the suspect exiting a bike trail near Calle Arroyo, and a deputy arrived shortly thereafter.

According to the department, the deputy contacted the suspect and then shot him multiple times. The department offered no information about what prompted the shooting, but it said no deputies were injured.

Deputies in San Juan Capistrano have body-worn cameras, and footage of the incident will be released “in accordance with the law and in consultation with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office,” the department said. State law requires that when a law enforcement officer shoots someone, the footage must be released within 45 days in most cases.

The deputy who fired the shots treated the suspect until the Orange County Fire Authority arrived. The suspect was taken to a hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition Tuesday afternoon, the department said.

The Sheriff’s Department urged anyone with information relevant to the homicides to call the department’s non-emergency line at (714) 647-7000 or leave an anonymous tip at ocsheriff.gov/occrimestoppers.