LOS ANGELES: A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy died after he was shot in his patrol car on Saturday evening by an assailant, and an investigation is under way that the sheriff said would press all of the department’s resources into action.
Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, 30, died after being taken to a hospital, Sheriff Robert Luna said during a news conference on Saturday night.
The preliminary investigation showed Clinkunbroomer was driving while on duty and fired upon around 6pm, Luna said.
Clinkunbroomer was unconscious in the vehicle when he was found near the intersection of Sierra Highway and Avenue Q in Palmdale by a person, Luna, identified as a “good Samaritan”, who alerted personnel at the Palmdale station of the sheriff’s department.
The deputy was taken to Antelope Valley Medical Centre in Lancaster, where he was treated for a gunshot wound.
“Despite the medical staff’s best efforts to save our deputy’s life, regrettably he succumbed to his injuries,” Luna said.
Homicide investigators are aware of video from a surveillance camera that may have captured the shooting, Luna said.
Luna said he believed the shooting was a “targeted attack”. But the motive, and whether the deputy or the department in general was the target, was not yet known.
“We’re going to catch the person who did this,” Luna said. “Because every resource that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has to bear is going after you.” California Governor Gavin Newsom called the killing “horrific, unconscionable, and shocking”. He ordered flags at the state capitol flown at half-staff in honour of Clinkunbroomer.
Clinkunbroomer, who transferred to the Palmdale station in July 2018, was a third-generation officer who followed his grandfather and father into the sheriff’s department, Luna said.
“In this time of mourning, we honour this legacy and send our deepest sympathies to Deputy Clinkunbroomer’s fiancée, his loved ones, and the men and women of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department,” Newsom said in a statement on Sunday.
“Deputy Clinkunbroomer’s devotion to community and country will never be forgotten.” The sheriff said his department was working closely with representatives from the city of Palmdale, about 98 kilometres northeast of Los Angeles.
“Palmdale loves the sheriff’s deputies, and the deputies take very good care of Palmdale and love our community back,” Mayor Laura Bettencourt said at the news conference.
“The person that did this is a coward. and he will be caught.” “It is sickening, heartbreaking news,” Republican state Senator Scott Wilk, who represents Palmdale, posted on Saturday evening on X.
A vigil for Clinkunbroomer was scheduled for Sunday evening outside the Palmdale sheriff’s station.