Deputies Who Fatally Shot Armed Suspect In North County ID'd

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CA — Authorities Wednesday publicly identified two lawmen who fatally shot a suspect who allegedly pulled a gun on them last week in a neighborhood near Batiquitos Lagoon.

San Diego County Sheriff's Department Deputies James Clone and Sean Zappia opened fire on Eric Scott Anderson, 40, in the 1500 block of Eolus Avenue in Encinitas shortly after 8 a.m. Friday, according to the regional law enforcement agency.

Paramedics took Anderson to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The deputies encountered the suspect while investigating a report of a suspicious person in a vacant lot in the neighborhood just west of Interstate 5, sheriff's Lt. Thomas Seiver said.

While the deputies were attempting to question Anderson, he allegedly pulled a gun, prompting them to shoot him.

Clone has been employed with the Sheriff's Department for six years and eight months, and Zappia for nine years and eight months.

— City News Service