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Authorities on Friday released video of a man who was shot to death by San Diego police after allegedly bringing weapons onto the grounds of a City Heights school.
Around 6:45 a.m. Sept. 23, officers received a 911 call from a school official about a trespasser, later identified as Huy Ly, 41, sitting near the auditorium of Fay Elementary School, 4080 52nd St., according to the San Diego Police Department.
During that call, played at the start of the footage released by the department, the dispatcher asked if the man was armed and the official told her that he could see a handgun beside him. He also told the dispatcher that the man “looks like he didn’t understand me,” when he tried to speak with him.
A short time later, officers located Ly, with what appeared to be a handgun next to him and a knife in his hand. They repeatedly ordered Ly to surrender and drop his weapons – one officer warned, “drop what’s in your hands or you are going to be shot.”
In the video, the officer can be heard issuing the order in English and calling for it to be translated into Vietnamese.
Police said they performed “de-escalation” efforts to contact Ly, but those efforts were not successful, nor were attempts to subdue Ly with bean-bag rounds or the use of a K-9 unit. At least 10 officers advanced on Ly at that point, one yelling, “let me see your hands!”
Ly then can be seen running a nearby alley with a couple of the officers in close pursuit. In the video the department isolates a still in which it appears he is holding a handgun in his left hand. When Ly exits onto Orange Avenue from the alley, he seems to turn to face the officers from the left side. Two officers then fire multiple shots at him from several feet away.
Investigators later determined the object in Ly’s hand was a replica, not a real firearm. A knife, police said, was found in the alley where they first spoke to Ly.
The California Department of Justice issued a statement in September which said that its shooting investigation team had been assigned and that the case would be turned over to its special prosecution section for review.
A 2020 law requires the California Department of Justice to investigate officer-involved gunfire resulting in the death of an unarmed civilian in the state.
It was not clear why the shooting in San Diego falls under the provisions of the legislation, since SDPD had reported that the suspect was armed.
Updated 2:25 p.m. Oct. 24, 2025
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