Local law enforcement officers are showing their support for the San Diego Police Department after one of its officers was killed and another seriously wounded during a traffic stop Thursday night.
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The injured officer, Wade Irwin, is in serious condition but expected to live, Zimmerman told reporters.
An individual thought to have participated in the shooting is in custody and is now in critical condition while recovering from a gunshot wound.
Earlier, Zimmerman told reporters she knew DeGuzman well. “We don’t have enough information at this point”.
During a press conference on Friday, SDPD Chief Shelley Zimmerman said the violent incident unfolded “extremely quickly…in seconds to a minute or so”.
She said police were investigating to see whether 41-year-old Marcus Antonio Cassani had any role in the police shootings.
“I personally worked with him when I was a lieutenant at Mid-City Division”, she said, according to Fox 5. Irwin was rushed to surgery and is expected to survive.
The police chief said that DeGuzman was married with two young children.
“The good news is that he is going to survive and he is going to recover”, Zimmerman said.
An ambulance near the scene of the shootings.
Officials announced earlier that the other officer had died.
“That’s just a tragic statistic of police officers that go out every single day that wear a badge with pride that we all took an oath to protect and serve all of our communities”, she said. He was impressed by the incredible strength demonstrated by the families of both officers during his meeting with them this morning.
Further details on the shooting were not immediately provided.
Moments later, officers arrived to find one colleague fatally shot and the other critically wounded.
Faulconer called for support of law enforcement officers nationwide.
Both men were wounded despite wearing bulletproof vests.
“They are out there trying to help us everyday and we should respect them and tell them thank you and shake their hand and give them a hug”, said Mel Black, who dropped off flowers at the memorial outside police headquarters. “This is one of the most hard and heart-wrenching situations for police officers to go through”, Zimmerman added. It is only getting worse.
In San Diego, it was the third fatal shooting of a police officer since 2010, but the first during the 28-month tenure of police Chief Shelley Zimmerman.
His partner, 16-year veteran Jonathan DeGuzman, was killed.
Henwood was the second San Diego police officer killed on the job within 10 months.
A police officer used a bullhorn to urge a man to leave the house and police detonated several loud devices.
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