A massive search is underway for a gunman who ambushed two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies last night at the Metro station in Compton, California.
They were shot as they sat in their patrol car Saturday by a suspect who “opened fire without warning or provocation,” authorities said.
The female deputy is a 31-year-old mother with a 6-year-old, and the male is 24 years old. The two officers had both just been sworn to duty, 14 months ago, Illicit Info reports.
Moments ago, 2 of our Sheriff Deputies were shot in Compton and were transported to a local hospital,” the department tweeted. “They are both still fighting for their lives, so please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.”
The deputies were out of surgery by 11 p.m. PT, according to reports.
Medics had to work their way thru a mob, which was attempting to block the hospital entrance, and prevent the officers from getting treatment, according to the Sheriff’s Dept. Some members of the mob were allegedly screaming, “We hope they die.”
A local faith leader who was at the hospital told a KABC reporter that the protesters tried to get into the emergency room.
“They were saying ‘Death to the police’ and ‘Kill the police,’ and these are sheriffs, but the message is still the same. They were using all types of curse words and derogatory terms,” he told KABC. “Unacceptable behavior, because a hospital should be a sanctuary.”
Law enforcement had to break up the violent mob to get the deputies into the hospital. An officer did arrest one man, who was then joined by a female agitator, who attempted to obstruct the arrest of the man, and who called herself “Press.”
Protesters could be heard shouting at one officer who appeared to point some sort of weapon at the protesters.
“That’s why you’re dying one by one, you stupid f—s,” a man can be heard saying. “Y’all gonna die one by one. This ain’t gonna stop.”
“You’re next with the f—— hot pocket,” a man shouted.
“I want to deliver a message to the family of the [inaudible]: I hope they f—— die,” a man yelled.
President Trump, who held a rally in Nevada on Saturday night, responded on Twitter after the sheriff’s department tweeted out a grainy video that shows the suspect approaching the parked patrol vehicle and firing shots inside the vehicle’s passenger-side window, Fox News reports.
“Animals that must be hit hard!” Trump wrote, referring to criminals who target law enforcement.
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
“That was a cowardly act,” Sheriff Alex Villanueva said. “The two deputies were doing their job, minding their own business, watching out for the safety of the people on the train.”
Villanueva said while authorities don’t have a detailed suspect description, one of the deputies described the shooter as a “dark-skinned male.”
Villanueva said the shooting shows the dangers officers face in the streets and how situations can change in “the blink of an eye.”
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the officers, families and friends.
