Breaking: Ambushed L.A. Deputies Out of Surgery, Both Expected to Survive

The Los Angelas Times has the story:

Two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies shot in what authorities described as an ambush attack are expected to survive amid an intense manhunt for the gunman captured on video firing inside their patrol car and as the violence became a new flashpoint in the political debate about policing and crime.

Both deputies were shot in the head near the Compton Metro station but went through surgery and are now listed in stable condition. The attack sparked widespread outrage, from the presidential campaign to the streets of Compton, where residents fear it would heighten already deep tensions between police and the community, after several high-profile deputy shootings and uses of force.

“It makes no sense,” said Setif Capelton, 22, who has lived in Compton nearly all his life and heard the burst of gunfire Saturday night. “It hurts this community more than anything else. Now, what if someone walks up to a police officer’s car, and they get scared and shoot that person?”

Authorities have offered no motive for the attack. But new surveillance video and dispatch calls provide a more detailed account of what happened.

The video reviewed by the Los Angeles Times shows a figure in dark clothes casually walk up a pathway near the Compton Blue Line station, approaching the deputies’ parked patrol car from behind.

The person draws closer and turns to face the passenger’s-side door, his steps quickening. Inches from the window, he raises a gun, opens fire and runs back the way he came.

Moments later, the passenger door opens and a deputy stumbles out, hand on head. The driver’s-side door opens soon after. On the radio, a shaky voice mutters: “998 Compton Pax.”

Recognizing the code for a deputy-involved shooting, a dispatcher asks: “Just happened?”

“Compton Pax, deputies down,” the voice says, almost unintelligibly. “Compton Pax 998.”

In the security footage obtained by The Times — an extended version of the clip released by the Sheriff’s Department — the shooter turns a corner out of the frame, past a second figure lingering on the sidewalk. It’s unclear if the second person was involved in the attack. A Sheriff’s Department spokesman declined to comment, citing the “ongoing active investigation.”

Both deputies were out of surgery by 11:00 p.m. PT. according to Fox News:

A manhunt was underway in California early Sunday after two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were shot in their patrol car Saturday 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.

"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.

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.

"Animals that must be hit hard!" Trump wrote, referring to criminals who target law enforcement.

An update on the conditions of the two deputies was not immediately available Sunday morning.

Trump later tweeted, "If they die, fast trial death penalty for the killer. Only way to stop this!"

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. Both of their families were rallying around them at the hospital.

Sheriff Alex 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."

State Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer called those who serve "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 seemed to follow a growing trend of suspects opening fire on law enforcement 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."