Monterey County sheriff's deputy survives shooting; suspect killed

Jun 26, 2023

A Monterey County sheriff's deputy survived being shot twice Wednesday morning by an AK-47-wielding man who was shot and killed by law enforcement after a nine-hour barricaded standoff inside a Salinas residence.

Monterey County Dist. Atty. Jeannine M. Pacioni identified the deputy as Jesse Grant in an incident report Thursday afternoon.

Sheriff Tina Nieto said the 40-year-old Grant is a 17-year veteran with the Sheriff's Office and a "dedicated professional." She did not disclose his condition but said "the deputy was out of the woods right now."

The shooting took place near the intersection of East Market and Sun streets in Salinas in a commercial area that includes car dealerships, mechanics and parts shops.

Pacioni said the deputy was serving an eviction notice at the apartment of Erin Howard Fischer, 67, when he was fired upon.

Unbeknownst to law enforcement, Fischer was heavily armed, Pacioni said. He wore camouflaged military apparel with loaded magazines, a helmet and a gas mask, she said. He died grasping an AK-47 assault rifle and had three semiautomatic assault rifles, two bolt-action rifles and two handguns in his apartment, Pacioni said.

The incident began when the Sheriff's Office received "a call for service" at 7:49 a.m. Grant arrived at the scene, Pacioni said. At 7:56 a.m., the deputy asked for help after knocking on the door and not receiving a response, though Nieto said "it was not an emergency situation" at the point. Two deputies came to assist Grant.

At 8:46 a.m., Fischer opened fire and hit Grant twice, Pacioni said. Fischer also shot an unknown number of rounds at the other deputies, but no other injuries were reported. Grant was transported to Natividad Medical Center in Salinas.

Nick Pasculli, Monterey County communications director, said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon that the deputy "was out of surgery." No update on the deputy's condition was available Thursday.

Fischer remained barricaded for nine hours in his second-story apartment.

Law enforcement — including Monterey and Santa Cruz county sheriffs, Salinas police, the FBI and the California Highway Patrol — sent in drones first. Fischer shot down seven of them, Pacioni said.

At 5:33 pm, a law enforcement officer killed Fischer with a shot to the head, Pacioni said.

Chief Deputy Eddie Anderson of the Monterey County Sheriff's Office said he was unable to verify the total number of shots fired by police or Fischer.

Robert Tripp, FBI special agent in charge of the San Francisco field office, said the agency aided with crisis negotiators, a SWAT team and an evidence response team.

A shelter-in-place lockdown order, which had been in effect for the immediate area since shortly after 9:15 a.m., was rescinded just before 9 p.m.