Stockton Man Dead After “Critical Incident” Leads to Officer-Involved Shooting
A Stockton man has died following what police are calling a “critical incident” on Hammer Lane earlier this week, according to a department media release.
In the early morning hours of Tuesday, January 10, police received a call from someone who said a man had threatened him with a gun on the 3300 block of West Hammer Lane. Shortly afterwards, the individual himself — identified as Rico Ruiz-Altamirano, 33 — called the police and told them he was armed.
Ruiz-Altamirano then allegedly brandished his gun at an employee of a store nearby and said he was going to take the employee hostage, police said.
Officers arrived on the scene and reportedly discovered Ruiz-Altamirano standing outside, wearing body armor and armed with a gun. Crisis Negotiators also responded to the scene and tried to convince him to put the gun down.
At one point, Ruiz-Altamirano took off his vest but held onto the gun, and allegedly told officers to shoot him.
Ruiz-Altamirano then allegedly approached a motorist, who’d just pulled into the parking lot but was not involved in the incident, while pointing his gun at the motorist. At that point, five of the officers fired their weapons, striking Ruiz-Altamirano multiple times.
Officers attempted life-saving measures, but Ruiz-Altamirano was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The gun, a 40-caliber handgun, and body armor were recovered at the scene. The officers involved have since been placed on administrative leave, as is protocol in officer-involved shootings.
