Body-worn camera footage released Thursday shows two San Diego police officers fatally shoot a man allegedly armed with a replica handgun near an elementary school in City Heights last month.
Huy Ly, 41, was refusing to surrender and running away from police when he was shot by officers, Andres Ruiz and Wyatt-Lee Basson, in the Colina del Sol neighborhood near Fay Elementary School on Sept. 23.
The state’s Department of Justice announced it will investigate and review the shooting under a law requiring it to step in when police kill a person considered not to have been armed with a deadly weapon.
The edited video released by the Police Department said the shooting occurred shortly after officers received a call from a San Diego Unified School District employee reporting that a man was trespassing at the school on 52nd Street near Orange Avenue around 6:30 a.m., text in the video reads.
The caller also said Ly was armed with a handgun and knife, text in the video reads.
“We have kids coming in and out,” the district employee told the police dispatcher in an audio recording of the 911 call. “I tried to make contact with him, but I don’t know if he speaks English. He looked like he didn’t understand me.”
The video then cuts to body-worn camera footage recorded by multiple officers as they arrived at the scene. The officers found Ly standing in front of the school’s auditorium with what appeared to be a handgun tucked in his waistband.
For several minutes, the officers attempted to negotiate with Ly in both English and Vietnamese, but the man ignored their orders and refused to surrender. Officers then tried to subdue him with less-lethal beanbag rounds and a K-9 unit, but those attempts were unsuccessful.
After an officer fired two more ineffective beanbag rounds, Ly abruptly ran down a nearby alley. The officers chased him while continuing to warn him that they would shoot him if he continued to ignore their orders, the video shows.
Security camera footage released Friday shows what appears to be a handgun in the left hand of Huy Ly, 41, as he runs from police in the Colina del Sol neighborhood near Fay Elementary on Sept. 23. (San Diego Police Department)
Security camera footage from the alleyway showed Ly fleeing while he was holding what appeared to be a firearm in his left hand.
The video cuts to body-worn camera footage recorded by officers Andres Ruiz and Wyatt-Lee Basson. Ly reached the end of the alley and ran onto Orange Avenue with Ruiz following closely behind.
“Drop the gun or you’re going to get shot,” Ruiz yelled. Seconds later, Ly stopped running and turned toward the pursuing officer.
Ruiz, armed with a handgun and standing only a few feet from Ly, then opened fire. Basson — who was armed with a long rifle and following the pursuit from farther back — also shot multiple rounds. Ly was struck by the gunfire and fell to the ground in the middle of the residential street, the video shows.
The officers attempted to perform life-saving measures on Ly until paramedics arrived, but he died before he could be taken to a hospital.
Investigators later determined Ly was armed with an orange-tipped, replica handgun and a knife, text in the video reads. Both weapons were recovered at the scene.
In announcing it would take over the investigation, the state DOJ said its shooting investigation team had been assigned and that the case would be turned over to its special prosecution section for review once the investigation was completed. Assembly Bill 1506, which has been in effect since 2021, calls for the state to investigate all incidents of police shootings that result in the death of an unarmed person.
Guns and knives are considered deadly weapons, for example. Guidance issued by the state DOJ indicates BB guns are considered deadly weapons, but replica firearms are not.
The San Diego Police Department will also conduct its own administrative investigation, and the city’s Commission on Police Practices will review the incident.
Originally Published: October 24, 2025 at 4:13 PM PDT