A husband and wife were shot dead in downtown San Diego on Wednesday morning outside a courthouse, where they sought separate restraining orders targeting the wife's spurned lover.
The victims, identified as Rachael Martinez, 31, and Jose Medina, 39, were ambushed in their parked vehicle two blocks from the courthouse, as reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Their alleged killer, 26-year-old Christopher Farrell, then exchanged gunfire with Harbor Police officers less than a mile away in Little Italy. A police officer was shot and injured and is now recovering. The suspect was killed in the shootout.
Martinez and Farrell were Having an Affair Before Medina Found Out, the Couple Then Filed for Restraining Orders Against Farrell
According to court documents, Martinez was having an affair with Farrell for a few weeks before her husband found out and confronted him in late September. Shortly after that, Martinez alleged in an application for a restraining order, she met with Farrell to ask him to back off. It ended in violence, she alleged.
Days later, on Oct. 4, she filed a report with the San Diego Police Department about the incident, alleging domestic violence, including false imprisonment and sex crimes. San Diego police homicide Lt. Jud Campbell said Thursday in a news release that the investigating officers obtained an emergency protective order.
The same day, police officers located Farrell at a Metropolitan Transit System office in Barrio Logan, where he worked as a contract security guard with Inter-Con Security, police said. Farrell was fired, and his work firearm was confiscated. He was booked into San Diego County Jail.
Three days later, on Oct. 7, a judge granted Martinez a temporary restraining order against Farrell. The next day, Martinez's husband obtained a separate temporary restraining order against Farrell. Court documents indicate that an attempt by sheriff's deputies to serve both restraining orders to Farrell at work failed as he'd already lost his job.
Campbell said it was unclear at the time of the shooting if Farrell had been served with the restraining order.
Martinez was Supposed to be in Court for a Hearing on the Restraining Order When She and Medina were Shot
On Wednesday, Martinez was supposed to be at a hearing regarding the restraining order matter at 9 a.m. The 911 calls started coming in just after 8:22 a.m. Callers said people had been shot while sitting in a car on Union Street, about two blocks north of the courthouse. Farrell, clad in a green shirt and blue jeans, had fled the scene.
Police fanned out to search, and a helicopter circled the area, announcing his description. A passerby spotted Farrell ducking behind an electrical box near Juniper Street and Kettner Boulevard and flagged down nearby Harbor Police officers.
Four Harbor Police officers approached the man. Campbell said Farrell, appearing to use the electrical box as a shield, pointed a gun at the officers and opened fire. One was struck in the hip. Two bullets hit a Harbor Police patrol car.
Two officers fired back, and Farrell was struck multiple times. Campbell said the entire encounter lasted less than 90 seconds. Farrell died at a hospital less than an hour later.
A fundraiser has now been set up to help the couple's children and to cover funeral expenses for their slain parents. "This senseless act of violence has left their family shattered, and their children are now left to navigate life without their loving parents," reads the description of the GoFundMe campaign.
