Four Officers in Critical Condition; Suspect Killed


OAKLAND, Calif. β€” Four officers were in critical condition and a suspect dead on Saturday after two related shootings, the first after a traffic stop and the second after a massive manhunt ended in gunfire, police said.

Two officers were shot in the first incident just after 1 p.m. after they stopped the suspect's vehicle in east Oakland, said Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason.

The suspect fled the scene on foot into a nearby neighborhood, police said, leading to an intense manhunt by dozens of Oakland police, California Highway Patrol officers and Alameda County sheriff deputies. Streets were roped off and an entire area of east Oakland shut to traffic.

At about 3:30 p.m. officers, acting on an anonymous tip, found the suspect, who had barricaded himself in a building.

"We had SWAT officers go into that building and that's where the second shooting took place," said Thomason.

The suspect was killed in the exchange, and two more officers wounded.

All four officers are in critical condition at Highland Hospital, Thomason said. Dozens of people, including other officers gathered outside the hospital awaiting word of their colleagues' condition.

Acting Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan said the department was still investigating.

"At this point we don't believe there are other people involved, but it's too early to tell," he said.

Meanwhile, the mood was somber outside the police station in Oakland as the investigation continued.

"This is a highly sensitive situation that we're dealing with right now with our OPD family, and we're still trying to notify family members that their family members were hurt," Thomason said.

Investigators have not determined the cause of the traffic stop or the first shooting.

The four officers remain in critical condition at Highlands Hospital. The victims names have not yet been released.