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Gunman who killed Whittier officer had fatally shot another man hours earlier, police say
Tony Barboza and Richard WintonContact Reporters
One officer was killed and a second injured in a shootout with a gang member who was wounded in a Monday morning altercation in Whittier, authorities said.
Three Whittier Police Department officers were responding to the scene of a traffic collision about 8 a.m. when a 26-year-old, recently paroled man driving a stolen car opened fire with a semiautomatic pistol, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lt. John Corina.
Detectives said the alleged gunman, who is expected to survive, is also a suspect in homicide that occurred in East Los Angeles. They said they believe he stole a vehicle Sunday morning after killing a man, then drove into Whittier, where he encountered the police.
The slain officer was identified as Keith Boyer, a 27-year veteran of the department.
Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, and his condition is unknown.
The shooter, according to police, had been involved in a traffic accident with another vehicle near Colima Road and Mar Vista Street, and approached the driver he had rear-ended to help push his silver car to the side of the road around the corner.
Police officers arrived in three cars and approached the man, who was seated in the silver car, Corina said. He got out and as officers moved to pat him down, he pulled a gun from his waistband and began shooting at close range.
“He started firing at the officers and they returned fire," Corina said. “We are still looking into that, why he just opened fire.”
Officers believed they were responding to a routine traffic call and did not know the vehicle was stolen when they approached.
"It seems like a simple traffic accident and next thing they know they're in a gunfight,” Corina said, adding that “you never know when you respond to a call, what you are going to run into.”
Corina said both officers were wearing bulletproof vests and were shot in the body.
Police have not identified the shooter pending the ongoing investigation, but described him as a Los Angeles gang member who had been released on parole within the last two weeks and had many tattoos, including on his neck and face. He was driving a stolen car from East L.A.
Tony Barboza and Richard WintonContact Reporters
One officer was killed and a second injured in a shootout with a gang member who was wounded in a Monday morning altercation in Whittier, authorities said.
Three Whittier Police Department officers were responding to the scene of a traffic collision about 8 a.m. when a 26-year-old, recently paroled man driving a stolen car opened fire with a semiautomatic pistol, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lt. John Corina.
Detectives said the alleged gunman, who is expected to survive, is also a suspect in homicide that occurred in East Los Angeles. They said they believe he stole a vehicle Sunday morning after killing a man, then drove into Whittier, where he encountered the police.
The slain officer was identified as Keith Boyer, a 27-year veteran of the department.
Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, and his condition is unknown.
The shooter, according to police, had been involved in a traffic accident with another vehicle near Colima Road and Mar Vista Street, and approached the driver he had rear-ended to help push his silver car to the side of the road around the corner.
Police officers arrived in three cars and approached the man, who was seated in the silver car, Corina said. He got out and as officers moved to pat him down, he pulled a gun from his waistband and began shooting at close range.
“He started firing at the officers and they returned fire," Corina said. “We are still looking into that, why he just opened fire.”
Officers believed they were responding to a routine traffic call and did not know the vehicle was stolen when they approached.
"It seems like a simple traffic accident and next thing they know they're in a gunfight,” Corina said, adding that “you never know when you respond to a call, what you are going to run into.”
Corina said both officers were wearing bulletproof vests and were shot in the body.
Police have not identified the shooter pending the ongoing investigation, but described him as a Los Angeles gang member who had been released on parole within the last two weeks and had many tattoos, including on his neck and face. He was driving a stolen car from East L.A.
