Video shows skateboard attack that sparks police shooting in Carlsbad

In a video released Thursday by the Carlsbad Police Department, a police officer is shown being hit by a skateboard during a surprise attack two months ago that prompted him to shoot his attacker.

The incident happened around 11:15 p.m. on March 29.

Officer Michael McKinney was driving a patrol car on Carlsbad Village Drive toward Interstate 5 when a rock struck the vehicle, destroying its spotlight and damaging the windshield, police said.

McKinney called a supervisor and stopped at a nearby shopping center. As the officer and his sergeant inspected the damage, a man ran up behind McKinney and hit him with the skateboard, police said.

Body-worn camera video of the incident captured the attacker, whose face and hands were covered, smashing the underside of the board onto McKinney's head. It is clear from the footage that the officer thought he had been shot. As he sought cover, the police officer fired three shots at his attacker who was running across the parking lot.

Nobody was hit.

As the sergeant chased the attacker, a large rock fell from the man's pocket, video of the incident shows. Police said the rock resembled one investigators found under the highway where McKinney's patrol car was struck and damaged.

Other officers responded and the suspect, identified as Kyle McCord, 32, was arrested about three blocks away.

Meanwhile, other officers took McKinney to a nearby fire station for treatment. “I was shot,” he can be heard saying to an approaching firefighter. The officer was ultimately hospitalized with a fractured skull, brain hemorrhage and concussion.

McCord was jailed on suspicion of attempting to murder a police officer and committing a felony while out on bail or bond.