Man shoots Santa Barbara officer in the head with pellet gun
May 9, 2026
By JOSH FRIEDMAN
Police arrested a man who allegedly shot a Santa Barbara officer in the head with a pellet gun on Friday morning. [KCOY]
Shortly after 9:30 a.m., an officer attempted to contact a suspect near La Cumbre Plaza in Santa Barbara. The suspect, later identified as 30-year-old Mitchell Grant Grote, began to walk away before he turned around, pulled out what appeared to be a handgun and fired several shots at the officer, striking him in the head.
In response, the officer fired one round at Grote. The suspect ran away from police and barricaded himself inside a bathroom, where he was held at gunpoint.
Officers managed to take Grote into custody shortly before 10 a.m.
Grote was not struck by gunfire. Investigators determined his weapon was a pellet gun.
Police arrested Grote for attempted murder of a police officer. Authorities also had a previous warrant for Grote’s arrest from May 1.
The suspect had potentially violated his five-year probation for stabbing a man in Santa Barbara in Jan. 2023. Grote served prison time for the stabbing, and court records show he had refused psychological evaluations.
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