Authorities say two unarmed officers were critically injured after being shot by a visitor in the lobby of a central California jail. Botti said the jail would be reopened to visitors, hopefully sometime yet Sunday.
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Before the Fresno jail shooting, Thong Vang had served 16 years in jail for raping three children ranging in age from 12 to 14. He was reportedly at the jail to visit someone Saturday morning and became disgruntled when he was told he could not cut the line.
Corrections Officer Toamalama Scanlan.
Fresno County Sheriff’s Correctional Officer Toamalama Scanlan was listed in critical condition, and Juanita Davila is listed in critical but stable condition after being shot in the head and neck areas, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
“Vang conveyed to officers he was giving up and wanted to be arrested”, the sheriff’s office said.
Officers inside the jail ran to the lobby, where a lieutenant shot at Vang, who returned fire, Botti said. He is scheduled to be booked into the Fresno County Jail on felony charges, which will include attempted murder.
Davila and Scanlan approached Vang and asked him to take a seat.
“It happened to one of the best guys with a bigger heart than anybody in this line of duty”, Matuu said.
The Fresno Deputy Sheriff’s Association is accepting donations on behalf of the injured officers and the Fresno County Jail is closed to visitors until further notice. Vang ran to a door leading to the records area of the jail.
The wounded officers were taken to a regional medical center, where both were scheduled to undergo surgery.
Neither Scanlan nor Davila were armed, standard practice for most of the more than 300 correctional officers who work for Fresno County. When he was ordered to wait his turn, Vang began to exhibit “bizarre behavior”, pacing back and forth around the lobby, Mims said.
Officers responded to calls of an active shooter and located two injured deputies in the lobby, after which they were dragged out into ambulances and rushed to an area hospital. The suspected shooter surrendered and was taken into custody without incident. They were each shot once during Saturday’s confrontation with Thong Vang, 37, who quickly gave himself up and was arrested. Authorities say two unarmed officers were critically injured after being shot by a visitor.
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He had already had been sentenced to 19 years in prison in September 1998 after he pleaded guilty to similar charges in an earlier phase of the gang-rape investigation into the sex-slave ring that victimized Asian-American girls.
