"Essentially ambushed": Two officers shot dead while responding to Los Angeles stabbing incident

On Tuesday, 2 El Monte officers and their suspected killer were gunned down in a shootout in Greater Los Angeles, California. The officers had been responding to a domestic violence incident at a motel. Once there, they approached the suspect in one of the motel rooms, where he opened fire on them.

The two officers who had been shot were transported to the LAC-USC Medical Center, where they both died due to their gunshot wounds. The primary suspect also met his demise in the midst of the struggle.

At a Tuesday press conference, El Monte Mayor Jessica Ancona mourned the two officers. She said:

“They were acting as a first line of defense for our community members when they were essentially ambushed while trying to keep a family safe.”

The woman involved in the initial domestic violence investigation is currently being interviewed by detectives.

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What happened in the Los Angeles Motel?

According to ABC, an initial report was made concerning a domestic dispute at a Los Angeles motel between a man and woman. At a press conference, police said that on the call made to 911, there had been claims that a stabbing had taken place.

The officers arrived at the Los Angeles motel around 5 p.m., where they confronted the suspect. After the gunfight began, the suspect fled into the parking lot, where the exchange of bullets continued. According to the Los Angeles Times, the suspect was killed at the scene, and his gun was recovered.

While the names of the officers who perished have not been confirmed, the El Monte police department released a statement discussing the loss. As per the Denver Gazette, one of them was a veteran with two decades of experience, while the other was a rookie with less than a year on the force.

The statement said:

“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 weights heavy on our hearts and we are sending our support to their families.”

It continued:

“We would also like to thank the El Monte community and our surrounding government agencies for the outpouring support we have received in the last few hours.”

The interim police chief of El Monte, Ben Lowry, lamented the death of the officers in the Los Angeles shootout.

He said:

“These two men were loved. They were good men. They paid the ultimate sacrifice, serving their community trying to help somebody.”

He added:

“Today, they were murdered by a coward and we are grieving and that hurts.”

Another suspect surrendered to police on Tuesday morning. This second suspect, whose role in the gunfight has not yet been confirmed, was staying at a homeless encampment in Van Nuys, California.