A manhunt was underway in California on Saturday night after two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were shot in their patrol car by a suspect who “opened fire without warning or provocation,” authorities said.
The deputies, a 24-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman, were both in critical condition and “fighting for their lives” as they underwent surgery following the attack, which occurred around 7 p.m. local time outside a Metro rail station in Compton, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.”
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“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 KABC-TV.
The 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.
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
Both deputies were sworn-in just over a year ago and the female deputy is the mother of a 6-year-old boy, officials said in a 10 p.m. news conference.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva said while they don’t have a detailed suspect description, one of the deputies described the shooter as a “dark-skinned male.”
He said the shooting shows the dangers for officers and how situations can change in “the blink of an eye.”
State Assembly member Reggie Jones-Sawyer called officers heroes and condemned any violence directed at law enforcement.
“I am praying for the officers involved and their families,” Jones-Sawyer said at the news conference. “This was an unprovoked, cowardly act.”
Villanueva said the shooting seems like part of a growing trend of suspects opening fire on law enforcment officers without provocation.
“Every week across the nation someone is losing their life in the line of duty,” he added. “It pisses me off, it dismays me at the same time. There’s no pretty way to say it.”
Villanueva expressed his condolences to the families of the deputies, adding, “Hopefully they can both heal from this.”
FBI Los Angeles tweeted it has “offered resources and stands ready to assist” in response to the attack.
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The Los Angeles Police Department tweeted, “We stand with our brothers and sisters at the @LASDHQ tonight. The thoughts and prayers of the men and women of the LAPD, are with the two deputies that were ambushed while sitting in their vehicle earlier this evening.”
