Update: Twelve hours after three police officers were shot in Palm Springs, California, a suspect was taken into custody shortly before 1 a.m. John Felix, 26, surrendered peacefully and was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Felix, a known gang member, was sentenced to four years in prison for attempted murder in 2009 and had been arrested in 2013 for fighting with police.
Felix apparently told his father he wanted to kill police officers moments before shots were fired. “He said: ‘Help. I need help. My son is in the house and he’s crazy. He has a gun. He’s ready to shoot all the police’,” a neighbor said.
Original post on Oct. 8 at 8:22 pm.: Three police officers were shot on Saturday afternoon in the Southern California town of Palm Springs when they were answering a call to an apparent domestic dispute. Two of the police officers were killed and one was wounded when someone suddenly opened fire on the officers. “Today Palm Springs lost two brave officers,” Palm Springs Police Chief Bryan Reyes said at a news conference. “I am awake in a nightmare right now.”
The suspected gunman has not been captured. Police surrounded a house, and “they’re going to treat the house as if he’s still in it,” the police chief said. The dead officers have been identified as Jose Gilbert Vega, a 35-year veteran of the force who was working overtime, and Lesley Zerebny a 27-year-old mother of a 4-month-old child.
The shooting in Palm Springs took place four days after a Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant was shot during a burglary call.
*This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
