Palm Springs shooting: Manhunt for suspect after 2 officers shot dead & 1 injured in California

Published time: 8 Oct, 2016 22:54
Edited time: 9 Oct, 2016 00:40



FILE PHOTO © Gus Ruelas / Reuters

Scores of police with armored vehicles have cordoned off an area in Palm Springs, California, where three officers were shot while responding to a call, two of them fatally. A manhunt for the shooter is ongoing, with police asking locals to not go outside.

One of the officers killed was identified as Jose Gil Vega. Vega, aged 35, who was supposed to retire from service in December, according to Palm Springs police chief.
According to Bryan Reyes, Palm Springs police chief, Vega was not scheduled to work on the shift and chose to work overtime that day.

The second deceased officer was a 27-year-old Leslie Zerebny, a mother of two, who recently returned to the police service and leaves a 4-month old baby.
A third officer has been treated in the hospital and is helping with leads in the investigation. He is “doing well,” Reyes said.

According to Reyes, police responded to a call from the suspect’s mother, who said that her son was causing a disturbance at their home.


#PalmSprings police and Riverside County sheriffs deputies are in the ground searching for the shooting suspect.

After officers arrived at the scene, they attempted to “kindly negotiate” with the suspect at the porch. However, he refused to cooperate and then reportedly opened fire on officers without warning.

Multiple gunshots were fired in Palm Springs on Saturday afternoon, resembling machine gun rounds, eyewitnesses cited by local outlet The Desert Sun said. According to town resident Frances Serrano, the father of an alleged shooter had asked him for help prior to the shooting, claiming his gun-wielding son was going to fire at police.

#Breaking
: Massive manhunt underway in #PalmSprings for gunman involved in deadly shooting with police. #cbsla 5 & 6pm. @cbsla


The incident happened around 1 p.m. local time (8 a.m. GMT) in the Cypress and Del Lago roads area. So far, no details have been released regarding the suspect that is still at large. The officers were initially called to the scene to deal with a domestic disturbance situation, KMIR reports, citing police.

Active shooter in Palm Springs, two policemen dead.
#PalmSprings





Serrano told The Desert Sun that he called police, and then the father of the alleged assailant walked away. The eyewitness then said he heard gunshots fired outside soon afterward and was subsequently contacted by officers.





New perspective, from the north. Cops are still taking defense positions behind a short wall. Armored car down the street.



Another eyewitness said he saw a woman lying motionless on the ground, presumably a police officer.

“Someone kept pumping her chest but she wasn't moving," said Gerardo Barrera, who was working near the site at the time of the shooting.

https://www.rt.com/usa/362066-palm-s...ooting-police/