'A Tragedy Beyond Measure': 2 California Police Officers Shot and Killed Within 24 Hours
Two California police officers were shot and killed and a third was wounded within 24 hours this week in two separate incidents, authorities said Tuesday.
An officer in the Northern California city of Stockton was fatally shot Tuesday morning, police said on Twitter.
A male suspect was also shot and killed in the incident. Neither has been identified.
KCRA’s video from the scene showed a police SUV with what appeared to be bullet holes in its driver-side front window.
Authorities did not immediately release further information.
In San Luis Obispo, a central California city about 250 miles south of Stockton, Detective Luca Benedetti was shot and killed while serving a search warrant on Monday evening.
Detective Steve Orozco was injured in the San Luis Obispo shooting, police said. He was released from a hospital and is expected to recover from his wounds.
Benedetti, a 12-year law enforcement veteran, was fatally injured in a shootout in an apartment, officials said during a news conference.
Benedetti and five other officers had been at the apartment for an investigation into items stolen in a string of late-night commercial burglaries in the city about 200 miles north of Los Angeles.
Police said gunman Edward Zamora Giron had been lying in wait inside the apartment and fired at the officers before shooting and killing himself. He also had wounds sustained in the shootout.
Officers arrived at the apartment in San Luis Obispo around 5 p.m. to serve the warrant, seeking the stolen property from the burglaries over the past week, according to Brian Amoroso, acting chief of the police department.
The officers knocked and announced themselves, Amoroso said, but there was no response from inside the apartment. They forced the door open and found Giron inside.
Giron opened fire, and the officers began retreating and shooting back, Amoroso said. Benedetti and Orozco were struck in the gunfire, as was Giron.
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said Giron had a criminal history involving mostly alcohol, drug and property offenses, but nothing violent.
Giron did not have any registered firearms, and authorities were not aware of any mental illnesses he may have had, the sheriff said.
Authorities later found the stolen property inside the apartment, Parkinson said.
Benedetti had worked for the San Luis Obispo Police Department since 2012 after serving in the Atascadero Police Department for four years. He was a member of the regional SWAT team. The 37-year-old is survived by his wife and two young children.
“This is a tragedy beyond measure for all of those who serve and care about our community,” city official Derek Johnson said in a statement. “Our deepest condolences go out to the family. We are devastated by this loss.”
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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