Two Sheriff's Deputies Shot In Compton. Authorities Release Video, Say They Were 'Ambushed'

Two L.A. County Sheriff's deputies were shot multiple times around 7 p.m. Saturday while sitting in a patrol car parked near the Willowbrook Metro station, according to authorities. Both are now out of surgery.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva said one deputy was a 31-year-old mother of a six-year-old son. He said her husband is with her at the hospital. The other deputy is a 24-year-old male. The sheriff said his parents and girlfriend are at the hospital. He said both had been sworn into the department 14 months ago.

In a tweet confirming the shootings, sheriff's officials said "both still fighting for their lives." Villanueva said they called in the shooting themselves and were alert when taken to St. Francis Hospital in Lynwood.

According to the sheriff's department, the deputies were "ambushed as they sat in their patrol vehicle."

Keep up with LAist.

If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.

Subscribe

"I want everyone to have a prayer for them for their recovery at this time," said Villanueva.

The sheriff, clad in a bullet proof vest, expressed anger at the shooting.

“It pisses me off,” he said. “This was a cowardly act.”

He also suggested that the anti-police sentiment expressed during recent protests could have played a role in motivating the shooter.

“Words have consequences,” Villanueva said.

The ambush also means deputies will have to be more on guard, he said. “We are going to have to look for these things, use the buddy system.”

Not long after the news conference ended, some protesters arrived and confronted sheriff's deputies.

One man taunted a deputy, shouting: "It's a celebration! It's a celebration!"

As a small group of men appeared to film two deputies with their phones, at least one deputy pointed a weapon at them.

One man is heard saying: "If you want to fire the shot, fire the shot."

DEPUTIES ARE 'ALIVE AT THIS TIME'

Capt. Kent Wegener, who commands the department’s homicide bureau, said at the start of the news conference that the deputies are "both alive at this time." He said one of the deputies was able to give a description of the gunman, saying the person who fired the weapon was male. He also cautioned that the video released by the department came from a fish-eye lens and may distort the height and weight of the person.

The MTA’s many cameras around the train station likely will help investigators identify the assailant, Wegener said.

At this time, Wegener said 14 homicide detectives are working the case, in addition to other crime scene analysts.

Sheriff's officials tonight tweeted out video of a person walking up to a patrol car and firing into the passenger window. The footage is grainy and shows a person approaching the car, firing a gun and then running away. The tweet from the main account for the sheriff's headquarters said:

[Screenshot of the incident appears below. Warning: the video is not graphic but may be disturbing to watch.]

(Courtesy LASD)

The shooting, which occurred around 7 p.m. prompted an intense manhunt. Heavily armed deputies could be seen going door-to-door as darkness fell in the neighborhoods around the Metro station, where the shooting happened.

Deputies could also been seen using flashlights to search the ground in the immediate area, presumably looking for the assailant's gun or any other evidence that might lead them to the suspect.

SHOOTING COMES AMID PROTESTS

Use of force by law enforcement has been the focus of protests and calls by some activists to defund police departments since nationwide protests sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May.

There have been numerous protests in recent days in L.A. over the fatal shootings of Black and Brown men by sheriff's deputies.

In the Compton area, two recent shooting by sheriff's deputies have sparked angry protests. In June, a deputy fatally shot Andres Guardado. An autopsy revealed Guardado, 18, had been shot five times in the back. The deputy claimed he had a gun. Last year, Ryan Twyman, 24, died after two deputies fired 34 times at him. Twyman was unarmed in his car.

A protest today in Westmont, an unincorporated neighborhood northwest of Compton was peaceful. The families of Dijon Kizzee, 29, and Anthony Weber, 16 — both fatally shot by deputies in Westmont — spoke at that event.

Tonight our reporter, Josie Huang, who covered the Westmont protest, was turned back from the command center tonight by one deputy and told "no media." Typically law enforcement officials set up a central location to keep the media and public informed in major breaking news situations.

HOW WE’RE REPORTING ON THIS

Correspondent Josie Huang, who covered the protest earlier at the day, will report from the area. Public Safety Correspondent Frank Stoltze is also reporting on the shooting.

This is a developing story. We will have more as information becomes available.

Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletters. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.