At least one San Diego County sheriff’s deputy fatally shot a man Sunday afternoon at a crowded outdoor event near the Imperial Beach Pier, according to authorities and witnesses at the scene. The shooting happened a little before 1:40 p.m. along the sidewalk of the Portwood Pier Plaza at Evergree n Avenue and Seacoast Drive, according to information provided by the Sheriff’s Office. It occurred on the sidewalk directly in front of the Imperial Beach sign that leads to the pier. People were gathered at an event known as the Christmas By The Sea Pow Wow. Officials did not immediately say how many deputies were involved in the shooting or what led up to it. The San Diego police lieutenant leading the investigation said the man died from his wounds. Imperial Beach Fire Chief John French told City News Service that his department’s paramedics took the gunshot victim to UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest. A video of the shooting, captured by a witness and viewed by the Union-Tribune, showed two deputies backing away from a man walking toward them and holding an item at his side. At least one of the deputies seems to address the man by his name, loudly telling him “don’t do it.” Moments later, four shots rang out and the man fell to the ground. One witness who declined to give his name told Sideo, a freelance news videography service, that the man who was shot was holding a souvenir-style knife made from black volcanic rock called obsidian. The witness said the knife appeared to be about 3 to 4 inches long. The witness said he didn’t know how the altercation began, but said he saw the man repeatedly “lunging” at the deputies from a distance. He said he initially believed the deputy who shot the man had pulled out a Taser or stun-gun device. He said the deputy fired four or five times. “It was unfortunate because I saw that it was avoidable,” the witness said. In the witness video viewed by the Union-Tribune, bystanders almost immediately began criticizing the deputies. “Why couldn’t they use a Taser?” one man asked rhetorically. “You couldn’t (expletive) Tase him?” a woman yelled at the deputies. Footage from Sideo showed an electric or motorized bicycle tipped on its side close to the shooting scene. Another witness, Toni Battle, told Sideo the man who was shot had passed by on the bicycle shortly before the gunshots rang out. Battle said she saw deputies performing CPR on the man after the shooting. She said paramedics arrived and transported the man. Battle criticized the deputies for opening fire so close to the crowded weekend event. “Our kids are here,” she said. “You couldn’t have found a better method? … You got Tasers, you got bean(bag) guns. I don’t understand that.” The San Diego Police Department is investigating the shooting under a countywide agreement that prevents law enforcement agencies from investigating shootings involving their own officers or deputies. ...read more read less