OC shooting: Bodycam video shows officers shooting suspect who beheaded parents

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, California. – The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has released bodycam footage of a police-involved shooting involving a suspect who allegedly decapitated his parents and their dog.

On Tuesday, July 9, OC officers responded to a domestic violence call at approximately 7:30 a.m. to a mobile home park on Alipaz Street in San Juan Capistrano.

The caller told dispatch that he had received text messages from a family member containing photographs of other family members who appeared to be seriously injured and that he had asked officers to check on their condition.

At the same time, dispatch received additional emergency calls, including one from a maintenance worker at the trailer park who reported being attacked by a bloodied man later identified as 41-year-old Joseph Brandon Gerdvil, the couple’s son.

Officers said Gerdvil stole the caretaker’s golf cart and fled the area.

The first caller, a cousin of Joseph, said he suffered from mental health problems and had been violent in the past.

When officers arrived on scene, they entered the home and found the couple and their dog dead inside. The sheriff’s office said her son had decapitated her.

Officers quickly found Gerdvil on a bike path in the Calle Arroyo area, five kilometers from the trailer park.

Once, during his encounter with officers, he threw a shovel at their patrol car.

He then got out of the golf cart and walked toward the officers, screaming. An officer ordered him to get on the ground several times, but the suspect refused and continued to walk toward him with an object in his hand.

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At this point, a shootout involving a police officer occurred. Gerdvil was shot multiple times.

In the video, Gerdvil was heard saying, “I love you. I’m sorry you had to die.” He then said, “Just finish me off,” as officers rendered aid.

During this time, Gerdvil also sang “What’s Love Got to Do with It” and “I Just Called to Say I Love You”.

Gerdvil was hospitalized in serious but stable condition and was subsequently booked into the Orange County Jail on suspicion of double murder.

Officers determined that the object in his hand was a metal water heater.

The Sheriff’s Department released the bodycam footage to “build public confidence in the community.”

“The Orange County Sheriff’s Department will release critical incident videos about incidents where the actions of members of the department in the performance of their duties are likely to have a significant impact on the department, the community, citizens or other persons, and/or incidents where deadly force or force resulting in serious physical injury is used,” the department said in a statement.

According to protocol, the investigation into the shooting involving a deputy sheriff is being conducted by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.