A California sheriff’s deputy was shot in the head but survived an “ambush” by a gunman intent on harming or killing police and authorities said Wednesday they were investigating whether there was a connection to two recent deadly attacks on officers.
Authorities were looking for Mason James Lira, 26, a transient from the Monterey area of the Central Coast, and he was considered armed and dangerous, the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Office said in an announcement late Wednesday night.
After wounding the San Luis Obispo County deputy in the small city of Paso Robles, police believe the shooter killed a transient and then eluded an intense manhunt. Police sought the public’s help and released photos from surveillance video showing the suspect — a young dark-haired, bearded man.
The shooter opened fire around 3:45 a.m. on the back side of the police station in Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said. Officers were inside at the time and windows and a door were shot out but no one was injured.
A dispatcher monitoring security cameras saw the attack unfold and called for help.
The deputy was struck while responding and his partner dragged him to safety and returned fire, Parkinson said. The wounded deputy was in serious but stable condition with a bullet lodged in his head, he said.
“We feel that this was an ambush, that he planned it, that he intended for officers to come out of the police department and to assault them,” Parkinson said.
Christopher Weber – AP News – June 10, 2020.
