Anaheim police fatally shoot man following disturbance call

ANAHEIM, Calif. (KABC) -- A 22-year-old man was shot to death by Anaheim police following reports of a disturbance in a neighborhood near a park early Tuesday morning.

Officers were called shortly before 1 a.m. to the 1300 block of West Lido Place about a suspicious man who was knocking on residents' doors and wouldn't go away when told to.

When police arrived on scene, they couldn't locate anyone around the neighborhood. So, they split up and one officer drove to search nearby Sage Park.

A few minutes later, an officer-involved shooting occurred at the park.

It is believed that the person who was shot matched the description of the disturbance suspect, but police have yet to confirm this.

What prompted the officer to open fire remains unclear. It was not known if the suspect was armed.

He was transported to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Isreal Patino, who lives next to the park, said he believes he encountered the man on Monday. Patino said he was asking for beer money

"When I didn't give him any money, he said he was going to go and rob people," Patino said.

Patino didn't think the man was serious but came home to find his storage has been broken into and his tools were stolen.

"I asked him, 'Are you OK?' and he was really strung out," he said.

The man's identity was not immediately released.

The officer involved in the incident will be placed on paid administrative leave, as per police policy. The officer was wearing a body camera, which will likely be an important element in the investigation.

The Orange County District Attorney's Office will be handling the investigation to determine whether the shooting was justified.