Two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies are fighting for their lives after they were shot multiple times at point-blank range in an ambush, authorities said.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department shared video of the shooting in a post on Twitter that shows a person open fire through the passenger-side window of the patrol car in Compton.
The incident happened at around 7 p.m. Saturday at the Metro Blue Line station at Willowbrook Avenue and Compton Boulevard, not far from the Compton sheriff’s station.
“The gunman walked up on the deputies and opened fire without warning or provocation,” the department said on Twitter. The suspect remains at large, it added.
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Sheriff Alex Villanueva said in a news conference on Saturday night that the 31-year-old female deputy and 24-year-old male deputy both underwent surgery. Both had graduated from the academy 14 months ago, he said.
The wounded deputies were able to radio for help, he said.
Villanueva also expressed his frustration over anti-police sentiment. His department has come under fire during recent protests over racial injustice.
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“That was a cowardly act,” Villanueva said, according to ABC7. “The two deputies were doing their job, minding their own business, watching out for the safety of the people on the train.”
He added: “To see somebody just walk up and start shooting on them. It pisses me off. It dismays me at the same time. There’s no pretty way to say it.”
