Updated Sep 13, 2020 - Politics & Policy

2 LA County sheriff’s deputies critically wounded in shooting

Police officers vehicles close off an area responding to a shooting at a bar in Thousand Oaks, California on November 8, 2018.

Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies were critically wounded in a shooting after being "ambushed as they sat in their patrol vehicle" in Compton, California, Saturday, the department tweeted.

Details: Police were looking for the gunman, who "opened fire without warning or provocation," per the department. Sheriff Alex Villanueva told a news briefing one of the deputies is a 31-year-old mother and the other is a 24-year-old man.

  • Both graduated from the academy 14 months ago. They had surgery for multiple gunshot wounds, he added.
  • President Trump, who's due to visit Sacramento, California, Monday retweeted video of the shooting with the comment, "Animals that must be hit hard!"
  • Around 3am., the LA County Sheriff's department tweeted: "To the protesters blocking the entrance & exit of the HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM yelling "We hope they die" referring to 2 LA Sheriff's ambushed today in #Compton: DO NOT BLOCK EMERGENCY ENTRIES & EXITS TO THE HOSPITAL. People's lives are at stake when ambulances can't get through."

Of note: Reporter Josie Huang, who works for LA NPR affiliate KPCC, was arrested during a protest that broke out in the aftermath of the shooting. KPCC executive editor Megan Garvey tweeted, "Why are reporters being arrested? Where can I go get her?"

  • The LA County Sheriff's department later claimed Huang "did not identify herself as press and later admitted she did not have proper press credentials on her person."
  • Huang tweeted on Sunday morning, "Hi, all. I’m out of county jail and am headed home. Thank you for caring. I have seen @LASDHQ tweets and have thoughts and videos to share soon after a little rest."

Editor's note: This article has been updated with details from the briefing and the arrest of reporter Josie Huang.

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