San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman held a press conference Friday morning to provide the public with updates regarding the ongoing investigation.
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Jonathan “JD” DeGuzman – deceased, 43 years old, 16-year veteran of San Diego PD. Tragedies involving police and black men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Falcon Heights, Minnesota; Dallas and Baton Rouge again this month have compounded the anger and sadness inherent in the slogans, “Black Lives Matter” and “Blue Lives Matter”.
What prompted the gunfire was unclear, and it was unknown if the officers were victims of an ambush, Zimmerman told news crews. Police gave no further information about Gomez or his role in the shootout except to say he was a suspect.
Officers broke windows, pounded on the roof and shouted for the man they thought was there to surrender but he wasn’t found there. He wasn’t there either.
A male suspect, who was captured in a ravine, was being treated Friday at a hospital. A suspect is in custody, police tweeted. The identities of the officers and the suspect have not been released. The nine-year veteran of the force had just joined the gang unit in June.
One officer has died, while the other remains in surgery.
Zimmerman says the first suspect is in custody, hospitalized in critical condition with a gunshot wound.
The San Diego Police Department said on Twitter that officers were searching for whoever was responsible for the shooting in the 3800 block of Boston Avenue.
The officers nearly immediately called for emergency help.
Officers used a bullhorn and other loud devices in a bid to get a man to leave the house.
The incident occurred as the two officers pulled over a vehicle around Acacia Grove Way and 36th Street.
Two #SDPD Officers have been shot tonight.
“You can imagine early in the morning when a chief knocks on the door of a family member”, Zimmerman said, according to the TV station. The officer’s wife was at his side.
“To have this happen to our police officers, we have seen this happen way too many times just in these last few weeks across our great country”. Both officers were shot in the upper torso.
Nearly immediately after DeGuzman and Irwin conducted the stop about 11 p.m., they called for “emergency cover”, police said. San Diego Police Department Officer Wade Irwin was seriously injured during the stop and is recovering. His wife was at the hospital.
She told reporters she had worked with Zimmerman before she was promoted to the police chief post in 2014.
Officials announced earlier that the other officer had died.
Meanwhile, flowers and candles were left behind at SDPD headquarters in downtown San Diego, at a plaque dedicated to fallen officers.
Following the late-night shooting, authorities urged residents to shelter-in-place and launched a manhunt to search for the shooter.
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San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer asked people for support and prayers for the police.
