A man in Modesto was killed in a police shooting after he took officers on a neighborhood car chase.
The shooting happened on Lance Street near Phoenix Avenue Sunday after a woman called Modesto police around 6:40 a.m. to report a man was at her door with a gun.
When police arrived, the man drove off. Police chased the man, 39-year-old Lonnie Ball, through the area until he returned back to the house on Lance Street.
Neighbors said they heard police ask Ball to get out of the car. Modesto Police said he did, and then shots were fired.
It's not clear if Ball fired shots first at police or fired at all, that part is now pending an independent investigation. Police did recover his loaded gun at the crime scene and marked at least a dozen shell casings.
After he was hit by gunfire, police department spokesperson Heather Graves said officers aided Ball at the scene until an ambulance arrived. He was taken to a hospital where he died from his injuries.
Three officers involved in the shooting were not injured and have been placed on paid leave, Graves said, which is a standard procedure for all officer-involved shooting.
Maria Huerta has been living in the neighborhood for more than 20 years. She said the only noises they usually hear in the area are cars speeding through the streets.
"What woke us up [this morning] was the gun shots obviously," Huerta said. "We couldn't see what was going on. We could only hear them initiating CPR on the gentleman. They worked on him for awhile before they took him to the hospital."
Ball was taken to the hospital, where he died from his injuries.
At this point, police said it doesn't appear that this incident was random. Modesto police said the woman who made that initial 911 call knew Ball, had a stay-away order against him and that this appears to be the result of a domestic dispute.
Neighbors say they're relieved.
"It could've been here for instance," David Montez, who lives in a trailer directly behind the home, said. "Yeah it was pretty scary."
