SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A woman was injured after a shooting involving a police officer in the East Village Wednesday evening.

The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) said that officers were investigating a shooting involving an officer that happened near 16th Street and Island Avenue around 5 p.m.

Officials told our FOX 5/KUSI reporter Kasia Gregorczyk that officers received a call about an assault with a deadly weapon. When they arrived at the scene, they found a woman allegedly attempting to stab a man with a sharp object.

The woman then reportedly did not comply with police orders to drop the weapon, and multiple rounds were fired. Officials said the woman was shot at least once in the torso by an officer.

Lt. Juan Marquez with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit said the suspect was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The San Diego Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting, which is protocol for shootings involving San Diego police.

A witness at the scene said that the woman appeared to be homeless and was fighting with another homeless person before the shooting happened.

Police said that there were no threats to the public and that traffic in the area would be affected for several hours.

The Sheriff’s Office said that San Diego police plans to release body cam footage of the incident late next week.

Before coffee chains and fast-casual counters defined everyday routines, soda fountains were part of the social fabric of downtown San Diego. Behind marble counters and rows of chrome stools, soda jerks worked quickly and precisely, mixing flavored syrups, carbonated water, and ice cream into drinks that were as much about experience as refreshment.

The work was part craft, part performance. Glasses clinked, syrup bottles lined mirrored shelves, and conversations unfolded across counters that served as informal gathering places for neighbors, students, and workers alike.

From the 1920s through the 1950s, soda fountains were woven into the rhythm of downtown life — stops between errands, after-school meeting spots, and casual places where people lingered over malts, sodas, and sundaes.

From pharmacy counters to social spaces

Soda fountains originated in late 19th-century pharmacies, where carbonated water and flavored syrups were first offered as refreshing tonics. Over time, these counters evolved beyond retail service and became informal social spaces embedded in everyday urban life.

By the early 20th century, soda fountains were common fixtures in downtown commercial corridors. They attracted families shopping in nearby stores, office workers on breaks, and teenagers gathering after school.

Historical references indicate that downtown San Diego included a range of soda fountain counters during this period, often operating inside drugstores, lunch counters, and small independent shops.

Downtown favorites and neighborhood counters

Among the establishments documented in historical references and city directory listings was United Soda Fountain, which opened in 1939 and became a steady downtown gathering place known for classic counter service, ice cream sodas, and milkshakes.

Wimer’s Soda Fountain is also referenced in historical accounts as part of the downtown dining landscape, reflecting the broader popularity of small, independently run soda counters that served regular customers by name.

Soda fountains were also commonly integrated into drugstores and neighborhood markets. The Ace Drug Store in Mission Hills, for example, is cited in historical references as a location where malts, egg creams, and simple lunch fare were served alongside pharmacy goods.

On Market Street, Gadson’s Store appears in 1920s and 1930s-era commercial records as part of the downtown retail corridor, combining general merchandise with a soda fountain counter typical of the era.

These establishments reflected a broader pattern in which food service and retail were closely intertwined, and where soda fountains functioned as informal neighborhood anchors.

The sights and sounds of the counter

What defined soda fountains was not just the menu, but the sensory experience.

There was the hiss of carbonation hitting flavored syrup, the rhythmic clink of glassware, and the visual display of colored bottles lined behind mirrored counters. Customers often sat shoulder to shoulder, watching drinks prepared in real time.

Menus typically included chocolate malts, root beer floats, phosphates, and ice cream sundaes topped with whipped cream and cherries. Many soda fountains also served simple food items such as sandwiches, chili, and light lunch plates.

Archival photographs from the San Diego History Center and other historical collections depict these spaces as active social environments, with soda jerks behind counters and customers gathered in close conversation.

The end of an era

By the late 1950s and into the 1960s, soda fountains began to decline as suburban expansion, automobile culture, and national fast-food chains reshaped dining habits across the country.

As retail patterns shifted, many independent drugstores and small lunch counters closed or removed their fountain service entirely. The social role once played by soda fountains gradually moved to diners, drive-ins, and later, chain restaurants.

What remains today are photographs, directory listings, and oral histories that preserve the memory of a downtown culture built around shared counters and informal gathering spaces.

Legacy

Though soda fountains have largely disappeared from the urban landscape, their influence remains visible in the continued popularity of ice cream shops, retro diners, and nostalgic soda-style beverages.

They represent a period in San Diego’s history when a simple drink was not just a transaction, but an invitation to pause, gather, and connect.

Read more history stories here; send an email to Debbiesklar@cox.net

Sources:

San Diego History Center Archives — photographic collections and historical materials documenting soda fountains and early downtown retail environments.
San Diego City Directories (1920s–1950s), San Diego Public Library Special Collections — business listings for drugstores, soda fountains, and lunch counters.
San Diego Union and Evening Tribune Archives (via Newspapers.com and California Digital Newspaper Collection) — advertisements, listings, and commercial references to soda fountains and drugstores.
Library of Congress — historic imagery and documentation of American soda fountains and pharmacy counters.
Smithsonian Institution — historical research on American soda fountains and early 20th-century consumer culture.
City of San Diego Planning Department historic context reports — retail and commercial development patterns in early and mid-century San Diego.

No one expected a high scoring game when the San Diego Padres hosted the Seattle Mariners for the first game of a three-game series at Petco Park on Thursday. Michael King was on the mound for the Padres and Bryan Woo was pitching for the Mariners so both offenses knew opportunities to score would be limited. In the end, it was the San Diego lineup that made the most of the success it had against Woo, which resulted in a 4-1 win over Seattle.

King and Woo battled back-and-forth through the sixth inning, but it was the Mariners who would allow their starter to pitch into the seventh inning. The Padres had a 3-1 lead after six innings and the bullpen was set and ready to follow the winning blueprint with Adrian Morejon handling the seventh inning, Jason Adam taking the eighth inning and Mason Miller closing in the ninth to take earn their sixth win in as many games.