Lompoc Police Releases Video of Lead-Up to Officer Fatally Shooting Man at Circle K

Footage Shows Events Before Armed Man Was Shot by Police in December 2023

Photos show footage from the incidents leading up to the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Connor Amador in December 2023. | Credit: Lompoc Police Department

The Lompoc Police Department released video footage of incidents preceding a fatal shooting by a police officer that occurred on December 28, 2023, at the Circle K convenience store on Ocean Avenue in Lompoc.

The video, which was published on the Lompoc Police YouTube page on Tuesday, shows the deceased, 20-year-old Lompoc resident Connor Amador, walk into the store around 11:30 p.m. before revealing what appears to be a gun under his shirt and pointing it at the clerk. Amador walks behind the counter and, still brandishing the weapon, forces the cashier to open the register and takes the cash out of the drawer.

Less than two hours later at around 1:18 a.m. on December 29, Amador returns to the same Circle K store and tries to carjack a vehicle parked outside. After he circles the car, unable to break in, Amador comes back inside the store, now carrying what appears to be a machete in his left hand and a firearm in his right. Upon entering, he points the gun — later revealed to be a 4.5-millimeter BB gun — at the clerk, directly at the back of the clerk’s head, and forces them to open the register.

Two minutes later, at 1:20 a.m., Amador leaves the front of the store, where two Lompoc Police officers had responded to the report of the attempted carjacking. He attempts once more to break the windshield of the vehicle but is unsuccessful. About 30 seconds later, video footage from just outside the store shows Amador then raising his right arm, which was holding the firearm, and pointing it in the general direction of the responding officers. Lompoc Police have revealed Amador was shot by Officer Alexander Justice but did not include footage of the actual shooting. Amador died at the scene.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is actively investigating the shooting. While the investigation is underway, Officer Justice has been placed on administrative paid leave.