A man wearing body armor pointed an assault rifle at two police officers in a California Starbucks, only to have the weapon malfunction before he fled and was shot by the officers nearby, police said Monday.
(FOX)- Vallejo Police Chief Andrew Bidou called it an “attempted assassination” of the two officers, who were on break when the confrontation occurred.
The officers were caught off-guard and “were ambushed by somebody who has superior firepower,” the chief said.
It marked the latest attack on police across the country, including two incidents in California in recent weeks that left a total of three law enforcement officers dead.
Police in Vallejo said Adam Powell, 41, had passed by the Starbucks six minutes earlier, apparently planning the attack.
Video from a nearby security camera showed a man walking up to the coffee shop and then sprinting away seconds later, with at least one officer chasing him.
Police said Powell appeared to keep trying to clear his weapon as he ran. Officers shot him three times about 100 feet from the Starbucks.
(Photo Credit: AP Photo/Chris Preovolos via the San Francisco Chronicle)