March 16, 2026


New cellphone video shows the tense confrontation in a ـshooting in North County that left a 40-year-old father of four dead and another man wounded.

Family members identified the man who was ـkilled as Martin Lucas, 40. Investigators say he was ـshot Monday by Michael Burke, 70, during a confrontation on a private road in Fallbrook.

Lucas' daughter, Martina Lucas, said her father was a devoted parent who always made time for his family.

"My dad was always there for us on our birthdays, on Christmas, on New Year's," she said. "My dad was my best friend."

According to the family, Lucas was driving a pickup truck and heading home after helping a friend with a landscaping job when the confrontation occurred.

Cellphone video recorded by a bystander captures portions of the encounter, though it has been edited and does not show the full context of what led to the argument.

In the video, Burke can be heard yelling toward the truck.

"You want to die today? I will kill you," a man believed to be Burke says.

The footage appears to show Burke placing a long gun through the passenger-side window as he argues with a man in the passenger seat, who Martina Lucas said was her father's friend. A struggle appears to follow.

Moments later, ـagunshot rings out and the truck begins rolling slowly downhill toward East Mission Road.

Martina Lucas said both her father and his friend were struck by gunfire.

"He ـkilled my father, like he was an animal," she said. "My dad didn't deserve that."

After the ـshot is fired, the video shows Burke yelling toward the vehicle from the road before the recording ends.

According to a property owner along the gated private road where the ـshooting occurred, Burke lives in a mobile home on the property and works there as a caretaker.

Larry Cinnamon, a Fallbrook resident who said he has known Burke for about a decade, said the accusations surprised him.

"That's not like Mike at all. He's not an aggressive person," Cinnamon said.

Cinnamon said he did not know the circumstances of the ـshooting but believes Burke may have been trying to protect the property from trespassers.

The second man who was ـshot was treated and released from a nearby hospital, authorities said.

Meanwhile, Lucas' family has created an online fundraiser to help pay for funeral expenses.

"I really hope the guy stays in jail, that he rots in there, that he never comes out," Martina Lucas said.

Burke faces multiple charges, including first-degree ـmurder