Two police officers killed in Los Angeles-area motel shooting

• Shooting at a motel in El Monte, California, leaves two police officers dead.
• The officers went to the scene because they had been notified of a possible stabbing, but were met with bullets.
• “Today they were killed by a coward,” the El Monte interim police chief said.

DEADLY SHOOTING IN CALIFORNIA. A shooting at a motel in El Monte, a city in Los Angeles County, California, leaves two police officers dead. The officers went to the scene because they had been notified about a possible stabbing, but were met with bullets.

In a statement early Wednesday morning, the El Monte Police Department reported that the two officers who were injured during the shooting Tuesday afternoon at a city motel did not survive their injuries and both had passed away.

Shooting at El Monte motel leaves two police officers dead

Police said two El Monte officers responded to emergency calls around 5:10 pm Tuesday for a possible stabbing at the Siesta Inn motel, located at the intersection of Garvey and Central avenues. Upon arrival at the scene, the suspect opened fire on officers, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) reported.

During the shooting, both Los Angeles-area police officers were injured and were in serious condition when they were rushed to LAC-USC Medical Center. However, the bad news would come hours later when the authorities confirmed that neither of them had survived the shooting.

Two dead officers: A veteran and a rookie

In the evening hours, El Monte police confirmed the deaths of two of their officers, although they did not release their names. However, LASD Captain Andrew Meyer stated that one of them was a veteran officer who had been working for the force for 22 years and the other was a rookie who had been working for the department for less than a year.

“There are no words to describe our grief and devastation by this senseless act as we learned of the death of two of our police officers,” the City of El Monte, the El Monte Police Department and the El Monte Police Officers Association lamented in a joint statement.

The suspect was gunned down

“It weighs heavy on our hearts and we are sending our support to their families. We would also like to thank the El Monte community and surrounding government agencies for the outpouring of support we have received in the last few hours,” their brief statement concluded.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department indicated that during the deadly exchange of gunfire that took place on Tuesday at the Siesta Inn motel in California a suspect was also shot to death, according to Fox News. They have also not revealed the identity of the suspect.

Heroes killed by a coward

Ben Lowry, who serves as El Monte’s interim police chief, told reporters Tuesday night that, «These two heroes made the ultimate sacrifice» by dying in the line of duty. «Today they were killed by a coward,» the official added.

Both the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the El Monte Police Department continue to cooperate in the investigation into the shooting. For now, the authorities have not revealed more details about the deadly exchange of fire or about the suspect killed and his motives for opening fire.

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