R.I.P. Officer.
Via AP:
Los Angeles County authorities say a police officer shot to death in the parking lot of Downey police headquarters was apparently targeted.
Sheriff’s Lt. John Corina says Officer Ricardo Galvez was in the driver’s seat of his personal vehicle when two suspects ran up and opened fire late Wednesday. The five-year department veteran died in the car.
Another officer heard the gunshots and pursued the suspects, who drove off into the neighboring city of Montebello. Authorities didn’t say whether they believed Galvez was targeted for personal reasons or because of his profession.
A large perimeter has been set up and several apartment buildings have been evacuated as SWAT officers sweep the area.
Corina said Thursday that a number of people have been detained.
Downey Police Chief Carl Charles praised Galvez’s professionalism and said the officer loved serving the city.
Police pay their respects to Ricky Galvez by escorting the murdered officer's body from the crime scene. #abc7 pic.twitter.com/mYrHmmqjLt
— John Gregory (@ABC7JohnGregory) November 19, 2015
Update:
But how is going up and just shooting someone without any words or warning a ‘botched robbery’? They’re saying that because the killers told them that.
Via LA Times:
Three people have been arrested in connection with the killing of a 29-year-old Downey police officer who was fatally shot in a botched robbery as he sat in his personal vehicle in a civic center parking lot, authorities said Thursday.
Two men and a 17-year-old boy admitted that they had intended to rob Officer Ricardo Galvez, said Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Homicide detectives are not looking for any other suspects, he said, and detectives have recovered a handgun that they believe was used in the deadly shooting.
Although authorities initially said the officer had been targeted, they said later that the assailants did not realize Galvez was a police officer.
“There was nothing indicating that he was a police officer when he was shot,” Corina said. “I don’t think he even really saw these guys coming up on him.”