Los Angeles – 2 area police officers were pronounced dead on arrival in the hospital following a suspected shootout.
The authorities claim that two officers from El Monte were on patrol when they received a call of a stabbing incident at a motel located at the intersection of Central Avenue and Garvey Avenue. The officers reached the exact location which was The Siesta Inn.
The Sheriff’s Department of Los Angeles County stated that both the officers were shot by the suspect as soon as they reached the location.
According to the police officials, the police officers responded to a domestic violence case reported between a girlfriend and a boyfriend. They rushed to the motel where the shootout allegedly started as soon as they arrived in a room at the motel.
Mayor of El Monte, Jessica Ancona said, “As our officers do on a daily basis, they were acting as the first line of defense for our community members when they were essentially ambushed while trying to keep a family safe.”
The El Monte police further gave the details stating that both officers received severe injuries from the shooting incident and were transported to the nearest hospital in critical condition. The hospital was LAC-USC Medical Center – unfortunately, both were pronounced dead on arrival.
The El Monte Police Department, the City of El Monte, and the El Monte Police Officers Association released a joint statement saying:
“There are no words to describe our grief and devastation by this senseless act as we learned about the passing of two of our police officers,” “It weighs heavy on our hearts and we are sending our support to their families.”
“We would also like to thank the El Monte community and our surrounding government agencies for the outpouring of support we have received in the last few hours,” the statement further stated.
The Sheriff’s Department of Los Angeles County stated that one suspect was killed in the shooting episode. The investigation has begun.
The Interim Police Chief of El Monte Ben Lowry said, “They paid the ultimate sacrifice serving their community trying to help somebody. They do what hundreds of thousands of men and women do every day across the United States. They took an oath to protect people and to serve them. These two heroes paid the ultimate sacrifice. These two heroes paid the ultimate sacrifice. Today they were murdered by a coward.” This deadly incident which left two police officers dead occurred just hours after a Phoenix police officer was fired with gunshots and another Highway patrol officer in California was shot brutally multiple times in Los Angeles
