LOS ANGELES (California, US), June 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — One Baldwin Park police officer was killed and another was wounded after a shooting Saturday evening.
At a press conference early Sunday morning, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said they were investigating a double homicide after a man fatally shot both a Baldwin Park police officer and another adult male. The second victim, who was not identified, was found dead from apparent gunshot wounds.
The suspect was wounded and has been taken into custody.
Baldwin Park Police Chief Robert A. López said the second officer injured by the gunfire has been reunited with his family and is doing well.
“It’s extremely tragic to have to deal with this,” López said as he fought back tears.
Law enforcement said Baldwin Park police officers were initially responding to a call of a suspect shooting rounds with a rifle near 4200 Filhurst Ave around 7:12 p.m. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the officers were “met by gunfire” when they arrived. He said they have since recovered the weapon.
The officers’ names have not been released as they have not been able to reach all the family members. López said the officer that died was an avid snowboarder and Dodgers fan, who loved to travel to watch the team play at different stadiums.
Luna said it’s unknown how many shots were fired. His agency will lead the investigation, he said.
Eleven shots rang out at 7:16 p.m. on Palm Avenue, according to video footage.
The homeowner whose Ring camera captured the shooting, who declined to give his name, said he thought the gunshots were fireworks. Only later did he look outside and see police cars flooding the street.
The neighborhood of single family homes is usually “pretty calm,” he said, standing in his front yard just steps from police tape that cordoned off the next block.
Until Saturday, there had been no shootings in his nine years of living on Palm Avenue, he said.
According to another video, six additional shots were fired at 7:26 p.m. near the corner of Palm and Filhurst Avenue as helicopters circled overhead.
As of 9 p.m. Saturday evening, multiple law enforcement agencies had descended on the neighborhood and were going door-to-door around the area. Police cars from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department and West Covina and El Monte police departments were stationed in the neighborhood.
The two officers hit with gunshots were transported to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center in serious condition — one by air and one by ground, according to the L.A. County Fire Department.
At the hospital, news helicopters were whirling above as police cruisers from various law enforcement agencies rolled into the hospital’s emergency entrance used by ambulances.
Nearby, several officers stood outside. Earlier in the evening, a sheriff deputy escorted a distraught couple through the same parking lot. An hour later, the same couple exited. They said they were family of one of the officers and declined to comment. — NNN-AGENCIES
