SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Authorities have identified the victims killed in a targeted, Little Italy shooting Wednesday as a married couple who were heading to the San Diego County Courthouse to attend a restraining order hearing against the suspect.
The couple, identified as 31-year-old Rachael Martinez and 39-year-old Jose Media, were shot and killed in their car at 1300 Union St. just before 8:30 a.m., Lt. Daniel Meyer with the San Diego Police Department said in a news release Thursday.
Authorities responded to the location, finding Martinez and Medina with gunshot wounds inside the vehicle. Police attempted lifesaving measures on both victims, but they were pronounced dead at the scene.
The shooting suspect, identified as 26-year-old Christopher Farrell, was in a previous dating relationship with Martinez, per SDPD. After the shooting, police say Farrell left the scene.
Witnesses provided a description of the suspect to responding officers, which was announced to the public using the loudspeaker from the police helicopter overhead. That led officers to a civilian report, just after 9 a.m., about the possible suspect hiding behind a large electrical box at West Juniper Street and Kettner Boulevard.
When authorities arrived on scene, they attempted to contact Farrell who was using the electrical box as a shield and pointing the gun towards several officers, detectives say.
“Farrell fired at officers, striking one Harbor Police officer in the hip,” Meyer said. “He also struck a Harbor Police patrol car twice. Two officers fired at Farrell striking him multiple times.”
Farrell, who was hit in the upper body, was taken to a hospital where he later died of his injuries.
The injured officer was also taken to a hospital and is currently recovering. His identity has not been disclosed, although police said he has been employed with Harbor Police since September 2024 and previously worked for SDPD.
According to Meyer, the injured officer did not fire his weapon during the incident. The two Harbor officers who fired their weapons are both assigned to Harbor patrol and have been with the agency for six and nine years, respectively.
During authorities’ investigation into the shootings, a semi-automatic handgun and multiple expended casings, as well as multiple folding knives, a knife sheath, a holster, a black tactical flashlight, three magazines were found on Farrell’s person. An empty magazine was also on the ground near the electrical box.
The investigation revealed Farrell reloaded his firearm while leaving the scene on Ash Street. The vehicle he arrived in, which has since been impounded, was located near the intersection of Ash Street and Fourth Avenue.
In the course of the investigation, detectives also determined Martinez had filed a police report with SDPD on Oct. 4, accusing Farrell of domestic violence, false imprisonment and sex crimes.
“The investigating officers obtained an emergency protective order,” Meyer said. “They determined that Farrell was a security guard who worked for Inter-Con Security who provides contract security guards for the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System.”
Shortly after the police report was made, authorities arrested Farrell at the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System office and booked him into county jail. He was also subsequently terminated from his employment and had his work firearm confiscated.
However, Meyer said investigators with SDPD’s Domestic Violence Unit, in consultation with a prosecutor specializing in domestic violence, ultimately found the case had “insufficient evidence and corroboration to immediately move forward.”
On Oct. 7, Martinez was granted a temporary restraining order against Farrell. Court records show that a deputy tried to serve Farrell that restraining order in October at MTS, where he reportedly worked.
In the restraining order court documentation, Martinez had said that her and Farrell had started dating in August and had broke up in October. She said her husband was aware of the affair around that time as well.
Court documents signed by Martinez said in regard to Farrell, “Respondent’s physical abuse and harassment have caused me to fear for my and my family’s safety. I am afraid of what Respondent might do next.”
She also said he had called her more than 80 times in one day and was harassing her.
“This individual was not employed by MTS at any time. The individual was previously assigned to MTS’s security contract by his employer, Inter-Con. Inter-Con removed the employee from this role more than a month ago,” MTS said in a statement.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Homicide Unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
