Man praising Lucifer shot by Fresno police

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Police say an officer fired one shot with his rifle Friday hitting a man in central Fresno.

Witnesses said the suspect was not making much sense in the minutes leading up to the shooting. Then they discovered he had a gun. Neighbors say the officer hollered repeatedly to drop the weapon before he fired.

The 911 calls from frantic neighbors around 11:40 a.m. alerted police of an armed man running around a residential area. Samantha Estrada and her husband were first to ask the suspect, Dorian Man, what was going on. "And then he goes 'Lucifer is our father and we're all going to worship him,'" Estrada exclaimed. "And then my husband is like 'our Lord and savior is more powerful than that.' He goes 'we rebuke you in the name of Jesus Christ.'"

Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said the suspect jumped at least one fence and was going from house to house when officers showed up. "Several officers saw him running through the neighborhood with the handgun," Dyer said. "He was told repeatedly to drop that handgun but failed to do so and although we do not know the exact details of when he was shot and what position the handgun was in, we do know that he was armed with a handgun just prior to the officer firing."

Some witnesses said initially they thought the suspect only had mental health problems until they discovered he was carrying a gun. "Then he just froze," Estrada said. "He backed up to where the neighbors house and then he pulled out, you could see part of the gun from his black sweater."

The bullet that struck Man went through one cheek and out the other. But officers say not even that got him to comply, "Even after he was shot, and handcuffed, he continued to be combative with officers," Dyer explained. "In fact, he had to be placed in a four-point restraint when he was put in the back of the ambulance as a result of his combative behavior."