A man chased on Cowles Mountain was the shooter

About a dozen other hikers were near Sunday morning when a young man descending the popular Cowles Mountain Trail in San Carlos stopped and shot a weapon on a group of young men holding rocks who pursued him as well as his partner, according to a witness.

San Diego police initially identified the suspect of gunshots like a woman, but on Tuesday, a police spokesman confirmed that the police arrested a 19-year-old man as part of the shooting, which caused any injury. The incident stayed under investigation on Tuesday, said San Diego police lieutenant Daniel Meyer.

“For the moment, we would not consider this incident to create a public security problem in progress in Cowles Mountain, but as always, the public would encourage the public to remain aware of their environment and to call the police if necessary,” said Meyer.

The police said on Sunday that the shooting took place around 10:45 am on the strongly treated path which is part of the regional mission trails and leads to the highest point in the city of San Diego. The police said that the suspect, although initially poorly identified as a woman, had used an un serialized “ghost pistol”.

The witness, who asked not to be identified for the security of his family, said the shooter was a young man accompanied by a young woman. He said that the pair had rushed to the mountain with a group of other young men in pursuit when the first man stopped, turned and fired four shots. The witness, who did not see what started the altercation or the prosecution, then observed the shooter and his companion in police custody near the start of the path, he said.

Meyer confirmed that the alleged shooter had been arrested and reserved in prison, but said that his women’s company had not been arrested. The prison files have shown that the alleged shooter had been arrested for suspicion of four chiefs of assault with a deadly weapon, two leaders linked to the illegal transport of a concealed weapon and a chief linked to the possession of a pistol without a federal series number.

A spokesperson for the District Prosecutor’s Office said the suspect had deposited a deposit and had been released from prison, and that the accusations brought against him would be announced during an indictment scheduled for Tuesday.

The witness, which provided photos of shell sockets on the mountain and screenshots of his call logs at 911, said that his wife and teenage son had been taken between the two groups when the shots were fired in an area of ​​the path which was about 6 feet wide. The witness said that his wife and eldest son squat behind shrubs on the side of the path while he and his younger son, who had hike about 50 feet in front, looked helpless.

“I was incredulous … It doesn’t make sense and that’s the last thing you expect to see,” said the witness.

The witness and his family had hiked about a third of the 1.5 mile trail path when they heard agitation above and in front of them on the way to Earth and the rock, he said. While the witness and a son stood on a rock while waiting for his wife and other son to catch up, they heard the agitation get closer, including the voices shouting “come back here”.

It was at this point that a young man and a young woman passed in front of them being prosecuted by a group of four or five young men holding rocks about the size of the softball, said the witness. A little further down the hill, the driven pair seemed to drop a bottle of water and stopped to pick it up.

The witness said that he then heard the young woman begging the young man to “stop”.

“He would never have come to mind that she was crying for him not to shoot a weapon,” said the witness, but a few moments later, he saw the man shooting the people pursuing him.

The shooter was about 20 to 25 feet from the group who was chasing him when he drew, according to the witness, who said that around 10 or 12 other hikers were in the region. He said that after the first two shots, there was a break and the young men who had driven out the pair narcked the man on his goal.

The man fired two other shots, then the young couple took off again on the mountain, said the witness. He said that the young men pursuing the pair asked other hikers from the region if they had been struck, then took off after the man and the woman.

The witness said that after having checked with his family and others in the region to ensure that no one was injured, he called 911 and reported what happened; He was asked to stay in the region until the officers arrived. While the witness and his family kissed, cried and comforted themselves, he said that other hikers from the region helped locate the shell envelopes and preserve them for the police.

Several minutes later, the witness said that a police helicopter had started to go around the region, and two police officers then set up the mountain to the shooting scene to speak with witnesses and seek evidence.

Originally published: April 1, 2025 at 4:25 p.m.