Man killed in Del Mar deputy-involved shooting identified

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) — Authorities released the name of an assault suspect Wednesday who allegedly charged a deputy with a knife in his hand underneath a bridge near the Del Mar Fairgrounds, prompting the lawman to fatally shoot him.

Emmanuel Ibarra, 34, suffered multiple gunshot wounds Monday afternoon during the confrontation in the 3200 block of Camino Del Mar, according to sheriff’s officials. The transient was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later.

The events that led to the shooting began just before 4 p.m., when a knife-wielding man attacked the manager of a Rubio’s restaurant in the 400 block of South Highway 101 in Solana Beach, stabbing him in the face and head, Lt. Greg Rylaarsdam said. 

Prior to the attack, the victim had ejected the assailant from the business for being hostile and disruptive, witnesses said. 

Medics took the victim, 49-year-old Robin Rodriguez, to a trauma center, where he was admitted in stable condition.

A pair of deputies investigating the crime soon spotted Ibarra, who matched the description of the assailant, near a stretch of train tracks beneath an elevated section of Via de la Valle in Del Mar, a few blocks south of the site of the assault. 

When the patrol personnel called out to him, Ibarra walked out from behind a concrete bridge support with a knife in his hand and strode toward the deputy closest to him, Rylaarsdam said. As the lawman backed away, he lost his footing and fell.

The second deputy then yelled at Ibarra, who turned and charged him, still clutching the knife. The deputy responded by opening fire on the suspect
with his service pistol.

Detectives documenting evidence at the scene of the shooting noted that the weapon Ibarra had been carrying seemed to be missing the tip of its blade, the lieutenant said. While treating Rodriguez, physicians removed what appeared to be the broken-off point of the knife from his head, according to Rylaarsdam. 

The deputy involved in this shooting has been identified as Noah Zarnow. Deputy Zarnow is assigned to the North Coastal Station and has been employed as a deputy sheriff with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department for five years.

Rodriguez, who remained hospitalized this morning, was expected to make a full recovery.