CHULA VISTA - Police in Chula Vista shot a homeless man who was holding someone at knifepoint Saturday night.
Authorities say it happened at an apartment complex near Harborside Park. While responding to a call about a domestic disturbance between two homeless people in a stairwell, authorities say when the suspect refused to drop his knife, an officer shot him.
Harborside park, once a haven for the homeless and drug addicts, remains fenced off and closed well beyond the 90 day plan originally floated by the city. Some residents say the park's closure has pushed the homeless and crime into other neighborhoods.
“It is getting worse, you know," Chula Vista resident Dorothy Cuevas told NBC 7. "They’ll shoo them out of here in one spot but where do they go? Right. There’s nowhere to go. So they just go into neighborhoods or like I said, anyplace they can find.”
Chula Vista Mayor John McCann says he doesn't think closing the park is making things worse.
"We believe that everybody who was homeless at that park was given an opportunity to find housing and get support from our city and from the nonprofits that we work with," McCann said. "So we believe the transition went well."
McCann says the homeless crisis is bigger than the city and state, but that the city has an aggressive plan to tackle the issues including opening up a bridge shelter.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story said the man shot by police was dead. The man is in critical condition and is not expected to survive.
Photo: Getty Images