[This article has been updated with new information from the Santa Barbara Police Department]
The Santa Barbara Police confirmed an officer-involved shooting took place off La Cumbre Road in Santa Barbara on Friday, May 8.
At 9:50 a.m. an officer from the Santa Barbara Police Department attempted to contact a suspect in the area of 100 S. La Cumbre Road.
The suspect initially walked away, then turned to face the officer, produced what appeared to be a handgun and fired several shots at the officer. The officer returned fire with one round of fire, the Police Department stated.
During the incident, the officer was struck in the head by what was later determined to be a pellet/BB gun projectile and was transported to Cottage Hospital. The officer has been released from the hospital.
Following the exchange, the suspect ran from officers and temporarily attempted to barricade himself, but officers swiftly contained the area.
The suspect was taken into custody. He was not struck by gunfire, and no additional officers discharged their firearms.
The weapon recovered at the scene was determined to be a pellet gun.
The suspect has been identified as Mitchell Grant Grote, age 30. He was arrested for attempted murder of a police officer.
“Per countywide policy, an officer-involved shooting investigation is being conducted in coordination with the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office,” the Police Department stated.
The Department also stated this was an isolated incident, and there is no further threat to public safety.
“Today’s events underscore the inherent dangers officers face every day in the service of our community. I am grateful for the swift actions of our personnel and the quick resolution of this incident. We remain committed to transparency and to keeping our community informed as the investigation proceeds,” said Santa Barbara Police Chief Kelly Gordon.
Initial reports state this incident took place inside La Cumbre Mall, although recent reports from witnesses on social media state this took place closer to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Store and AT&T store off La Cumbre Road with the suspect possibly running into the La Cumbre Plaza.
According to one witness posting on Nextdoor, “It was a homeless man that hangs out on the sidewalk by the parking lot of the auto parts store. He shot at the officer while she was walking up to him and she shot back. He grazed her forehead, thank God she is alive. My husband was walking up the stairs above the auto store and turned around and saw the whole thing.”
The above witness report has yet to be confirmed.
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Ban all guns and replicas. This isn’t a discussion about the homeless, it’s about America’s obsession with firearms.
Not the kind of Friday morning “I’d” expected!!! Started off early enough to attend the “Modoc Multi Use Path Ribbon Cutting” – pretty cool…
https://cyclemaynia.org/event/modoc/ Then decided to head off to pay my AT&T bill (CASH @ the Kiosk), not open yet? Just as I dismounted there was a LOUD BANG; looking to my left there’s some MORON with a semi-auto pistol possibly ready to take a second shot, instead took off running towards the mall (Starbucks). I ended up checking on the officers (the female had blood on her forehead but didn’t look like it was flowing) & offered up that he’s gone… Went to VeloPro just because then went back to pay my AT&T bill (hopefully), noticing that the woman I’d seen earlier was giving a “Statement”; I offered up a ME too…
So true – what was he wearing (?) dark maybe plaid shirt; dark curly hair (?); I should have maybe paid more attention – but yeah seeing someone on the sidewalk (upper SB) with a firearm that was just fired – attention to details were gone. The SBPD Det. took my info & I shared the “No Texting/messages” info for my phone…
@ least I now have 2 whole “entries” for the FREE E-bike (that I don’t WANT).
🚲
Now the homeless in SB are packing heat? Crazy times!
Why shouldn’t they? They live under constant threat of violence 24/7 and are just as much entitled to the 2nd Amendment as anyone else. If I were homeless, I sure as heck would be strapped.
Before any simple comments like “why are you defending shooting cops” from the usual suspects here, I’m talking about homeless people in general. I don’t know this person’s circumstances or state of mind, just defending homeless people’s right to bear arms.
RepubliCONS want convicted felons to be able to own guns, so I would expect thrm to be ok with homeless people having either concealed or open carry firearms.
Republicans want convicted felons to be President of the U.S.
If Felonies or Mental Illness don’t automatically disqualify a homeless person, their inability to properly secure a weapon should. What an idiotic statement.
There he is.
“their inability to properly secure a weapon should.” ….. Then Republicans shouldn’t be able to own firearms because their MAGA children steal them.
“If Felonies or Mental Illness ” …. Then WTF are the Republicans trying to restore gun rights to felons?
And heck – the stupic MAGAcans want to be able for anyone to send a firearm through the mail. That doesn’t sound like a secure idea. What the heck is wrong with the GOP cesspool?
https://abc7.com/post/united-states-postal-service-considers-allowing-people-ship-handguns-mail/19065723/
MAGAts and gun nuts are fish out of the same barrel of stupid. Slovenly, uneducated and hypocritical, the lot.
I have yet to engage with a Trump supporter who can actually maintain an honest and logical debate for more than 1 second.
They have been programmed for so long – they are the perfect sheep servants. Incapable of rational or logical debate.
All citizens should enjoy all rights and privileges that any of us do, as long as they abide by our laws.
But I don’t think that unrestricted ownership or use of firearms should be a right. We can’t legally buy or sell certain drugs, or plutonium, or certain kinds of porn, or many other types of things. Firearms are deadly, used to murder people, sometimes accidentally kill children and others, and can be used to commit mass murder. And they ARE used for all those things routinely in this country, making public events now potentially dangerous for everyone. Like the guy who was shot and killed at the Trump rally, where he sat in the bleachers behind the candidate. People shot at a July 4 parade in a small town, children murdered in their school rooms… licensing, proof of competency etc. should be mandatory for ownership of guns and ammo.
BOSCO – let’s not talk about “idiots” when you make comments like that.
How do you know he has a felony or mental illness? Do you know this man? How do you know if was not “properly secure?” Were you there?
Your kind are all the same. Guns for me but not for thee!
Bosco on top of idiotic, I’d add that your post is that of a dotard and a ninny.
You just hate gun owners.
They don’t automatically disqualify Trump from being President.
And inability to properly secure a weapon does not disqualify someone from owning a weapon … the Republicans you vote for, doing the bidding of the NRA, have seen to that.
As for your last statement: pure projection. You have never made any other sort of statement here.
With proper registration of course. I agree. Clearly he wasn’t trained on proper use of a firearm though.
How do you know? Because he only wounded the police officer? Do you hate cops or something?
Sad part is this thing is only 40 bucks online; with the full kit running around $61.16?
https://www.umarexusa.com/ux-brodax-177-black
that’s shopping online though, so off to Big5 we go… $59.99 (note in store only!)
https://www.big5sportinggoods.com/store/details/umarex-brodax-tactical-co2-revolver/0350119651603/_/A-5674916#
“in stock”!!! * Must be 18 years or older to purchase
Wait a minute that’s just across the street?
You agree with what? You’re comment is at the top level. And what you do know of his firearm training?
BTW, “The above witness report has yet to be confirmed.”
Why are RWers so dumb?
I posted quite a bit years ago but stopped for this exact reason. The failure for both sides to have critical thinking skills and independent thinking. Again as I said in the past, I’m moving on, enjoy your romper room.
Years ago we weren’t hurling towards fascism. We cannot have a “both sides” discussion when one side is working to (and succeeding) at stripping rights and equality from anyone that isn’t a straight, white, “christian,” GOP man. The MAGA cult followers are the ones incapable of independent and critical thinking, the rest of us are pissed off and fed up. At least this site isn’t overrun with bots like other sites.
Projection and narcissistic thin skin, cannot tolerate valid criticism.
Shoot ANY gun at a cop, go straight to jail. Do not pass Go. Stay there until you figure out how to be a member of society. That might take a while for this yo-yo.
I’m pretty sure this is the same guy I’ve seen living on the sidewalk between O’Reilly Auto parts and AT& T lately. The same. Mitchell Grant Grote who was arrested in 2023 for attempt murder because he stabbed a homeless guy in the neck. Why was he not in prison? Ask Gavin Newsom and the liberal Democrats. They are the ones who release criminals like this back onto our streets.
Good God, I wonder if it hurts much to excrete such small-minded analyses….
Hey JAMES – January 6th.
Janes, Yet you support child ra***ts by being agreeable to the hiding of ALL of the Epstein files. The orange goblin is named in the files 38,000 times. Pot meet kettle.
Also, NPR:
“On his first day in office, President Donald Trump granted clemency to every person charged or convicted for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, even those convicted of violently assaulting police officers.
Trump gave pardons to hundreds of violent Jan. 6 rioters. Here’s what they did
While many people had no criminal record prior to committing crimes on Jan. 6, NPR has identified dozens of defendants with prior convictions or pending charges for crimes including rape, sexual abuse of a minor, domestic violence, manslaughter, production of child sexual abuse material and drug trafficking.”
Talk to Trump’s Department of Pardons, MAGAbreath.
JC is taking his initials a little too seriously.
Totally off topic, but the ad for Miguel Jr.’s look good! Too bad there isn’t one within 100 miles of any city Edhat covers. Bummer, got me excited there was a new restaurant in town!
You have to look at this for exactly what happened here.
When all is said and done.
A female Santa Barbara police officer was shot in the head.
And this should have never happened.
This guy had an active felony warrant. This is why it’s a good idea for police officers to check people like this that are loitering to see what their status is.
This way you can avoid police officers being shot in the head.
That’s what was happening, and the officer was shot.