LA Sheriff's Deputy Survives Surgery Following Dramatic Shootout

Los Angeles CA

31 August, 2021

2:38 PM

Description

LYNWOOD, CA —A Los Angeles Sheriff's Deputy is recovering today after being wounded during a dramatic shootout with two armed robbery suspects in Lynwood Monday night. The deputy, who was shot in the upper body, underwent surgery at St. Francis Medical Center to remove a bullet and was ``awake and in good spirits`` Tuesday, according to Deputy Tracy Koerner of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The deputy is expected to survive. The two suspects were taken into custody following the shootout and an hours-long manhunt that ended in a crash after a high-speed chase along the Long Beach (710) Freeway. It began just after 7 p.m. Monday when deputies responded to a report of an armed robbery in the area of Lorraine and 112th streets, said Koerner. They arrived to find a man who said two suspects robbed him at gunpoint, and he gave the deputies a description of the pair who had fled the scene in a black Dodge Ram pickup. As the deputies were talking to the victim, they spotted the pickup truck. They tracked it to a nearby cul-de-sac near Lorraine and Fernwood Avenue where the truck made a U-turn and charged toward the deputies. The suspects opened fire on the deputies, who got out of their vehicle and fired back, according to the sheriff's department. One of the deputies sustained a bullet wound to the upper body and was rushed to a local hospital. One of the suspects was arrested at the scene. Detectives found three handguns, which they believe were used by the suspects in the robbery, Koerner said. The second suspect was taken into custody at approximately 10:48 p.m. Monday after allegedly leading deputies on a high-speed chase in a white pickup truck in which he barely missed colliding with several vehicles on the southbound Long Beach (710) Freeway. After leaving the freeway, the suspect crashed into an electrical pole and a median near Eastern Avenue and was arrested, authorities said. The suspect sustained injuries related to the traffic collision and was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Koerner said. At least one deputy discharged a weapon at the conclusion of the pursuit, but sheriff's officials said it was determined that the suspect was not shot. The incidents will be investigated by the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau and Internal Affairs Bureau, the Office of the Inspector General and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, as per policy when any deputy discharges a service weapon. City News Service and the Associated Press contributed to this report.