Man Killed in Shoot-Out With Police

A man who opened fire on police investigating a possible illegal gun sale behind a Costa Mesa business Monday was killed in a shoot-out with officers, authorities said.

Investigators said the man, who was not immediately identified pending notification of his family, fired first at a uniformed patrolman and then shot at two plainclothes officers who arrived to assist the patrolman at 2324 Newport Blvd. Police were responding to a telephone tip.

All three officers returned the fire, and the man, described only as a white male, was pronounced dead at the scene behind Hoover’s Printing Co., according to Sgt. Tim Holbrook.

A second man, who reportedly was involved in the alleged gun sale, was being interviewed by both the Costa Mesa Police Department and the Orange County district attorney’s office, Holbrook said. The man, whose name was not released, has not been arrested, however.

Holbrook said the guns involved in the transaction may have been either an illegal sawed-off shotgun or an automatic rifle. The deal took place just outside a motor home parked behind the printing firm, he said, adding that investigators have asked for warrants to search the vehicle.

No police officers were injured in the shooting incident, Holbrook said.