From City News Service
COMPTON — The City Council has added $10,000 to a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the man who ambushed and shot two sheriff’s deputies at a rail station in the city, officials announced Sept. 23.
The deputies were shot at about 7 p.m. on Sept. 12 as they sat in their parked patrol SUV at the Metro A (Blue) Line station at Willowbrook Avenue and Palmer Street.
Surveillance video shows the suspect approaching the patrol vehicle from behind, walking up to the passenger side of the vehicle, pulling out a handgun and firing through the passenger side window. The gunman is then seen running away.
The shooter was described by the sheriff’s department as a “male Black, 28- to 30 years old, wearing dark clothing, who was last seen heading northbound on Willowbrook Avenue in a black four-door sedan.”
The City Council approved the $10,000 reward at its meeting Sept. 22.
“I condemn violence of any kind,” Compton Mayor Aja Brown said. “The shooting was an absolute tragedy, not only to the two victims involved, but to our entire community as a whole. The act of one person does not reflect our city of 100,000 residents, or the great strides we’ve taken collectively to improve safety in our community.
“We do not tolerate nor promote violence,” she continued. “We will continue to keep the deputies and their families in our prayers. The city will be working with the Sheriff’s Department as they search to apprehend the individual responsible for this act of violence.”
Compton’s reward will be added to the cumulative reward fund, which has now reached over $600,000. It started with $100,000 from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and was increased by donations made from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, among others.
No new information was released about the manhunt. Both deputies have been released from the hospital, but officials say they face a long recovery.
The female deputy who was injured in the shooting was released Sept. 21, the sheriff’s department announced.
The 24-year-old male deputy who was also injured during the attack was released Sept. 16.
Officials urge anyone with information about the gunman to contact the Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Anonymous tips can be left for L.A. Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477 or at lacrimestoppers.org.
