After two deputies were shot and left in critical condition Saturday night, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department released surveillance footage that appears to show the shooting in Compton.
Three hours after shots were fired, the search for the shooter was ongoing, officials said.
The deputies were working with the department’s Transit Services Bureau and sitting inside a patrol vehicle parked near the Blue Line Metro station in Compton when the shooter approached them, according to the department.
They were parked along 101 East Palmer St., across from the station, when the gunman came up “from behind” just before 7 p.m., Captain Kent Wegner said during a news conference later Saturday night. He said the deputies were facing southbound, and the shooter walked up from the north.
“He walked along the passenger side of the car,” Wegner said. “He acted as if he was going to walk past the car. And then he made a left turn directly toward the car, raised a pistol and fired several rounds inside of the vehicle, striking both of the sheriff’s deputies.”
The deputies were reported to have been shot multiple times, including in the head, and are “fighting for their lives” in surgery.
“Moments ago, 2 of our Sheriff Deputies were shot in Compton and were transported to a local hospital. They are both still fighting for their lives, so please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. We will update this thread with information as it becomes available…Update: One male deputy and one female deputy were ambushed as they sat in their patrol vehicle. Both sustained multiple gunshot wounds and are in critical condition. They are both currently undergoing surgery. The suspect is still at large.”
Video below:
LASD announces both deputies are in fact, still alive. 14 homicide detectives are on the scene. Very generic suspect description of a dark-skinned male, per one of the deputies. The video was from a fisheye lens which potentially distorts suspect’s height. Sheriff Villanueva says one deputy is a 31-year-old mom of a 6-year-old boy, the other is a 24-year-old male. Says both deputies are out of surgery with multiple gunshot wounds & critical. Says this is now a growing trend of police being targeted in the current climate.”
“Two deputies were doing their job, minding their own business and watching out for the safety of the people on the train,” Villanueva said. “And seeing somebody walk up and just start shooting on them — it pisses me off.”
“It dismays me at the same time, and I have no pretty way to say it,” Villanueva said.
