SANTA ANA : Police Wound Man Wielding Steel Pipe

A young man wounded by police outside the Lucky Guy hamburger stand was wielding a steel pipe and refused to obey orders to drop the weapon before he was shot, authorities said Monday.

Ediberto Palapa Figueroa, 20, of Santa Ana, was wounded in the chest and leg about 7:30 p.m. Sunday as he advanced on a lone police officer outside the fast-food restaurant at 401 S. Main St., said Maureen Thomas, a police spokeswoman.

Figueroa was listed in good condition Monday at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where he underwent surgery for his gunshot wounds. He was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer.

The owner of the restaurant, who spoke on the condition that his name not be used, said that “there was a problem” at the walk-up window with a group of customers. Two or three men, he said, appeared to have been drinking and refused to leave after an employee told them to go away.

Thomas said the officer became aware of the disturbance while on his dinner break at Lucky Guy and went outside to take care of the matter. According to police, he confronted Figueroa, who was armed with a steel pipe about 18 inches long.

Figueroa allegedly disobeyed two orders to drop the pipe and advanced on the officer who then opened fire, Thomas said. No one else was injured.

Lucky Guy’s owner said the wounded man had obtained “some kind of crowbar” and that one of his employees saw the men with beer cans in their hands at the order window.

“The neighborhood is kind of tough here,” he said. “I don’t want any more problems.”

Santa Ana police and the Orange County district attorney’s office are investigating the shooting, which is routine procedure to determine whether the officer committed any wrongdoing or violations of departmental policy.