Investigations continue in December shooting

Investigations are expected to be completed in February in connection with the only officer-involved shooting death ever to occur at UC Davis.

According to police, on Dec. 14, Martin Louie Castro Soriano fired shots at UC Davis police with a handgun before officers returned fire and fatally wounded him. The incident took place just after 5 p.m. near the student housing office on the northwest side of campus.

Three independent investigations involve: the Yolo County District Attorney's Office; the Yolo County Critical Incident Response Team; and the Internal Affairs unit of the UC Davis Police Department. Additionally, the state Department of Justice has assisted local law enforcement agencies in reconstructing the scene. Units from the City of Davis Police Department and the Yolo County Sheriff's Department also responded to the incident.

The investigation includes toxicology tests to determine if Soriano was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The results of those tests are not expected until at least the end of January.

Soriano, 26, of Antioch, was not a student. Investigators say they believe he was distraught over a breakup with a former girlfriend and had come to campus to contact her.

Police released reports from eyewitnesses about Soriano's behavior that prompted initial calls to police.

"We had reports from eyewitnesses that the suspect was acting in a bizarre fashion, using irrational language. They also reported that the suspect approached at least one of our students in a threatening manner," said UC Davis Police Capt. Leslie Brown.

When officers approached Soriano and tried to engage him in conversation, he brandished a handgun and fired at them. Before returning fire, officers first tried to subdue Soriano by using a non-lethal TASER gun -- to temporarily paralyze him with an electric shock. Paramedics responded, but Soriano died at the scene. The three officers involved were all senior members of the police force.

"I know this was a very difficult circumstance for our officers and that they are deeply concerned over the taking of a life," said Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef in a campus update about the investigation that was e-mailed to students, staff and faculty members on Wednesday. "But I know, as well, they were trying to protect the lives of others who were nearby," he said.

Such incidents are rare on the campus, "but are shocking and cause profound sadness," Vanderhoef noted.

The last shooting death occurred at UC Davis in 1977, when a man shot a married couple living in campus student housing at Orchard Park. The husband died.

In January 1985, physics lecturer Fred Morris was bludgeoned to death in a campus men's room. Four days later, staff physician Michael Corbett was killed the same way in a men's room at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, and a medical student was beaten but survived. A suspect was convicted of murder in those deaths.

Media Resources

Amy Agronis, Dateline, (530) 752-1932, abagronis@ucdavis.edu

Primary Category

Tags