Car Chase Closes Border, Suspect Shot

A stolen vehicle suspect suffered non-life-threatening injuries Thursday in an officer-involved shooting at the end of a vehicle chase through San Diego County, police said.

The pursuit caused the U.S.-Mexico border to be closed, with the suspect at one point driving northbound on the southbound Montgomery (I-5) freeway.

Police said the suspect, a male whose age was not disclosed, then turned back south on the freeway before exiting onto surface streets in San Ysidro.

The pickup was cut off by a San Diego police patrol unit at Dairy Mart Road and Camino de la Plaza, U-T San Diego reported. The suspect was shot in the leg by a San Diego police officer and possibly an officer from another agency, according to the newspaper.

He was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, said San Diego Police Officer David Stafford.

The chase began at 6:23 p.m. on southbound Interstate 15 at Mercy Road. Along the way, the suspect struck three patrol vehicles with the pickup. At the border, he made a U-turn onto the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 and headed north.

An NBC7 broadcast report said the border with Mexico was closed as a result of the pursuit.

Stafford said no law enforcement officers were hurt and the other agencies involved in the pursuit were the California Highway Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.