Armed suspect shot dead by police at Holiday Inn Express motel, Elk Grove PD says
Police shot and killed an armed suspect Tuesday night at an Elk Grove motel, authorities said.
One officer opened fire at a male suspect shortly after 11:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express at 9175 West Stockton Blvd., the Elk Grove Police Department said in social media posts.
The suspect was taken to a hospital, where he died of his injuries, police said. No one else was injured.
The incident began as a disturbance call at the Holiday Inn Express, department spokeswoman Officer Cristina Gonzalez said, where employees reported a man behaving erratically and brandishing a firearm.
“The suspect grew angry after being told a room was not available, and then began grabbing the phone from the employee (calling 911) and hanging it up,” Gonzalez said.
Arriving officers contacted the man in the lobby but he did not comply, Gonzalez said. Officers attempted to subdue him using a taser but were unsuccessful.
The man began to run through the hotel, “still armed with the gun,” Gonzalez said, when one officer opened fire, striking him at least once. The suspect was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Gonzalez said it was not immediately known whether the suspect fired his gun at any point. The department is continuing to review body camera footage from the incident, she said.
The man was identified by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office as 40-year-old Booker Pannell.
Pannell was believed to be under the influence of a controlled substance based on witness interviews, according to Gonzalez, and had gone to the Holiday Inn Express after reportedly stealing a friend’s vehicle.
Pannell was running toward an occupied parking lot when the officer shot him, according to a department news release.
The officer-involved shooting will be investigated internally by the Elk Grove Police Department and also reviewed by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, Gonzalez said. The involved officer has been placed on administrative leave in line with department policy, she said.
The incident is the second officer-involved shooting this month by the Elk Grove Police Department.
On Feb. 1, three officers opened fire at a homicide suspect, Devian Lewis, who had led law enforcement officers on a pursuit after being identified as the suspect in the death of a woman in Rancho Cordova. Lewis was wounded by gunfire and taken to a hospital. He has since been released from the hospital and booked into jail.
This story was originally published February 22, 2023 at 7:46 AM.
