Some residents of the Scripps Ranch neighborhood where San Diego police fatally shot a man with a gun on Tuesday said they were concerned about him weeks before the deadly encounter.
The shooting took place at Angelique Street and Little Silver Court. Videos show the man barefoot, wearing ear protection and brandishing a weapon.
Morgan Wurtzler lives in the house across the street, where crews working on the home called 911 after he pointed the gun in their direction at around noon.
“Something was just off, and he was walking around just, you know, waving a gun around and not listening to the cops and freaking out people that were working at our house, freaking out people that were just, like, on the street,” Wurtzler said.
She said police entered her family’s property, breaking the fence on the side to be discreet. Her mother let them inside, and they went upstairs to a balcony for a bird’s eye view of the standoff unfolding below.
“They came here and, you know, like a safe vantage point for them to help like deescalate the situation or at least make sure that they can, you know, take care of what’s going on,” Wurtzler said.
San Diego police shot and killed a man who officers say was threatening others with a gun. It all started just after noon at a home on a cul-de-sac off Angelique Street. NBC 7’s Dave Summers has more on this frightening day from Scripps Ranch.
Police said two officers opened fire, killing the man at around 1 p.m. Bullet holes were still visible Wednesday in the windshield of a car parked on the street, as well as a blood stain on the sidewalk.
“Pretty alarming for Scripps Ranch, for sure,” Wurtzler said.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident, as is protocol in a shooting by San Diego Police. Authorities said Tuesday he was 59 years old. The man’s identity has not been released, with the medical examiner’s office noting the case remained under seal.
Multiple neighbors said they knew the man as Eric and said he kept to himself, rarely leaving the house. A search of property records came back to Eric Kulakow.
“He was always a little bit socially awkward and quiet, but he never really posed a threat to anyone before,” Morgan’s brother Blake Wurtzler said. “I do think that over time, maybe he had some decline, and I was, you know, concerned about him but didn’t know things were at that level.”
Blake Wurtzler said the man lived in the home in the cul-de-sac with his father, who passed away a few years ago, and there had been some strange behavior – standing outside at odd hours, peering into cars. It was enough, he said, to raise with another neighbor just a few days prior.
“We were just concerned about him and wondering if, you know, there’s anyone holding him accountable or checking in on him or checking in on his mental health,” Blake Wurtzler said. “It was just bizarre because then a week and a day later, this incident happens right after I’d had, you know, concern for him.”
Several residents said they were grateful no one else was hurt but were shaken by the incident and sad it ended the way it did.
“I think people don’t check in on each other as much, and that could bring a lot of help to people if we were checking, you know, each other and making sure you’re OK and trying to support each other through things before they become dire and become a crisis,” Blake Wurtzler said.
