A man suspected of involvement in a disturbance outside a Desert Hot Springs church today was fatally shot by a sheriff's deputy when he allegedly refused to comply with the deputy's commands at the end of a pursuit, authorities said.

The deputy responded to a disturbing the peace call around 9:30 a.m. outside Grace Church on Bubbling Wells Road, near Dillon Road, according to sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez.

When the deputy arrived at the location, a person gave details on what had happened and provided a description of the suspect, who the deputy soon spotted less than a quarter mile away, the sergeant said.

``The deputy tried to make contact with the suspect, and the man took
off running,'' Gutierrez said.

The suspect, with the deputy close behind, ran south until he reached the Save a Pet Adoption Center at 67600 18th Ave., according to Gutierrez.

A shelter volunteer found the man hiding inside a cat house.

When he saw her, the suspect politely asked Ann Woods, 64, to come in, she said.

“I said ‘No thank you, very much,’ ” she said. “He looked very scary.”

Woods ran away and encountered the deputy outside the shelter.

“I heard the (deputy) tell him repeatedly — repeatedly — to lie down,” Woods said.

That’s when shots were fired, she said.

Investigators have not determined how many rounds were fired, but Woods said she thought she heard four shots.

Gutierrez said the deputy shouted several commands to the suspect, but the man
``did not comply'' and the deputy fired his pistol at the man, fatally wounding him.

Details on the nature of the disturbance that led to the shooting, and exactly what transpired at the end of the pursuit, were not immediately released, nor was the name of the suspect.