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Insane video shows half-naked maniac shooting flamethrower at cops inside California sex shop

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Cite

Clelland, G. (2026, October 17). Insane video shows half-naked maniac shooting flamethrower at cops inside California sex shop. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/17/us-news/bodycam-video-shows-moment-man-turns-flamethrower-on-sd-officers/

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-10-17 · by Georgia Clelland

Quick Summary

Police bodycam footage released by the San Diego Police Department shows a chaotic September 16 confrontation in which 33-year-old Saul Sandoval Chavez was fatally shot after allegedly attacking officers with a makeshift flamethrower near an adult shop. The incident began when officers responded to reports of Chavez using a metal rod and torch lighter, damaging vehicles before entering the Adult Emporium sex shop where he confronted police with his homemade weapon. One officer shot Chavez inside the store, causing him fatal injuries; three officers were burned along with a K-9 unit named Ryder that also sustained burns from the incident.
Written by AI on 2026-10-17, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 16, a man named Saul Sandoval Chavez, armed with a makeshift flamethrower, confronted San Diego Police officers in North Park, California. The dramatic incident was captured by police bodycam footage released by the San Diego Police Department on October 17. Three people were injured and a police dog named K-9 Ryder sustained burns during the confrontation. Chavez, aged 33, entered an adult shop called Adult Emporium after damaging vehicles with a metal rod near El Cajon Boulevard and Oregon Street around 9 AM. He was fatally shot by officers inside the store as he threatened them with his flamethrower.

Written for “Man Shoots Flamethrower At Cops” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Man Shoots Flamethrower At Cops
Crime & Law · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
33%
6 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-17 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15921 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Georgia Clelland
19 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 “Both the alteration and lack of disclosure in this case violate that policy,” Stanford said in a statement, adding that it would provide additional training and strengthen reviews of promotional material.
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🔮 A source close to Torres also rejected the ghostwriting allegations, arguing the veteran reporter would never allow another person to write under his byline.
🔮 “This is being reviewed as a possible violation of the UC Anti-Discrimination Policy and any corrective action will be managed by the appropriate campus department(s).”
Also by Georgia Clelland
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 19 articles by Georgia Clelland →

Topics

Adult Emporium California K-9 Ryder San Diego’s The San Diego Police Department

Subjects

Chavez PERSON · 5× California GPE · 2× Adult Emporium ORG · 1× FBI ORG · 1× Ryder PERSON · 1× San Diego’s GPE · 1× Saul Sandoval Chavez PERSON · 1× The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office ORG · 1× The San Diego Police Department ORG · 1× the District Attorney’s Office ORG · 1×

Narrative

Dramatic police bodycam footage captured the moment a madman armed with a makeshift flamethrower confronted officers inside a California adult shop, leaving three injured and a police dog with burns.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-17
🔮 As he made a beeline for a back room, a store employee could be seen fleeing through the main entrance toward officers after being told to “run”.

Claims (18 extracted, 6 hedged)

Dramatic police bodycam footage captured the moment a madman armed with a makeshift flamethrower confronted officers inside a California adult shop, leaving three injured and a police dog with burns. asserted
madman → capture → burns
The San Diego Police Department released the video on Thursday, showing multiple angles of the September 16 confrontation that ended with 33-year-old suspect Saul Sandoval Chavez being fatally shot. asserted
Chavez → release → confrontation
The incident unfolded in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood after officers responded to reports of a man allegedly acting violently with a metal rod and attempting to break into vehicles. uncertain
man → unfold → vehicles
Sign up for the California Morning Report newsletter The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now. Thanks for signing up! asserted
Sign → sign → California
Police said the incident began shortly after 9 a.m. near El Cajon Boulevard and Oregon Street, where Chavez was reportedly carrying a torch lighter and an aerosol container. uncertain
Chavez → say → lighter
The footage shows the pursuit moving through the neighborhood, with the suspect allegedly damaging vehicles before taunting officers with his makeshift weapon. uncertain
suspect → show → weapon
The confrontation continued at the Adult Emporium sex shop, where Chavez ran inside and allegedly turned the weapon on police. uncertain
Chavez → continue → police
As he made a beeline for a back room, a store employee could be seen fleeing through the main entrance toward officers after being told to “run”. uncertain
employee → make → officers
Officers deployed bean bag rounds inside the business in an attempt to subdue Chavez before sending in police K-9 Ryder to help apprehend him. asserted
Officers → deploy → him
Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters But the suspect allegedly turned the makeshift flamethrower on Ryder, leaving the dog with burns to its face and upper body. uncertain
suspect → download → face
Footage shows an officer moving in before opening fire on Chavez. asserted
officer → show → Chavez
One of the shots appears to strike an aerosol canister the man was holding, triggering a fireball as he falls to the ground. asserted
he → appear → ground
Other officers then rush inside and pull Chavez from the shop, attempting to extinguish the flames. asserted
officers → rush → flames
Police can also be seen performing CPR on the suspect. asserted
Police → see → suspect
He was taken to hospital, where he later died. asserted
he → take → hospital
Three officers sustained burn injuries, while Ryder was treated at a veterinary hospital. asserted
Ryder → sustain → hospital
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting, with the findings to be reviewed by the District Attorney’s Office. asserted
findings → investigate → Office
The FBI and US Attorney’s Office will monitor the investigation, while San Diego police conduct separate reviews into the incident and whether department policies were followed. asserted
policies → monitor → incident
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