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A Los Angeles County sheriff's sergeant died Wednesday afternoon after being shot in Lancaster. The shooting occurred just after 12:35 p.m., and authorities later announced that Sgt. Steve Owen, 53, died after being taken to a local hospital, according to KTLA . A suspect was taken into custody after an hour-and-a-half long search.
The L.A. Times reports that Owen was responding to a residential burglary call near the Antelope Valley College campus in Lancaster. During the search, students and staff at Antelope Valley College were told to "shelter in place and await further instruction,'' according to Fox 11 .
Owen had been with the Lancaster Station for five years. His wife, who is also with the Sheriff's Department, along with his mother and adult son and daughter, were able to get to the hospital before he died, according to KTLA. While at the hospital, Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris told the L.A. Times that Owen, who he did not name at the time, had been shot in the face. Parris also said that he knew him well.
In 2014, Owen received a Medal of Valor along with five other members of the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station, according to City News Service.
It was initially reported that both Owen and another deputy had been shot, but Sheriff Jim McDonnell later clarified that although the other deputy had been injured, he was not shot, according to the Times.
