Two police officers seriously wounded by gunman outside metro station in Los Angeles
TWO Los Angeles sheriff ’s deputies were in a critical condition after being shot in an ambush outside a suburban metro station on Saturday night, as anti-police sentiment rises in the US.
A security video showed a man walking up to the patrol car as if he was going to pass it, before pulling out a gun and firing shots through the passenger window. Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said the shootings were “without warning or provocation”.
Both victims, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds, graduated from the police academy only 14 months ago. One was a 24-year-old man, the other a 31-year-old mother of a boy, who is six.
“That was a cowardly act. The two deputies were doing their job, minding their own business and watching out for the safety of the people on the train,” said Sheriff Alex Villanueva. “These are real people, doing a tough job. It shows the dangers of the job in the blink of an eye.”
He described the shooter, who fled the scene on foot, as a dark-skinned male.
The shootings in Compton, south of the centre of Los Angeles, took place against a backdrop of mounting tension in the area, with Sheriff Villaneuva’s department facing criticism during recent protests over police violence. With the officers fighting for their lives after undergoing emergency surgery, anti-police demonstrators gathered outside the hospital.
According to the LA Sheriff ’s Department, the protesters blocked the entrance and exit of the hospital’s emergency room and yelled: “We hope they die.”
Donald Trump, the president, who retweeted the video of the incident, described the shooter as an “animal”, who needed to be “hit hard”. AJA Brown, the Democrat mayor of Compton, said: “Both deputies and their families will remain in our prayers.”
Eric Garcetti, the Los Angeles Democrat mayor, told CNN: “Of course there’s an important conversation going on about policing, but these are folks who put their lives on the line for us, and we will find justice for them.”