San Diego police shooting: Two suspects in custody following gang unit officer's death

One officer was killed and his partner severely wounded in the shooting late on Thursday night

(AP)

Police in San Diego have arrested two suspects in a shooting that left one officer dead and his partner seriously wounded. The first suspected gunman was taken into custody about an hour after the shooting, which took place late on Thursday evening. Described as a Hispanic male adult, he was suffering from a gunshot wound and put under guard while receiving treatment in hospital.

Shortly before 6am on Friday, dozens of armed officers descended on a home in the California city’s Shelltown neighbourhood, where the believed they had pinned down a second suspect and called on him to come out.

Nearby residents told news station Fox 5 that they had heard a succession of bangs and smelled what seemed to be tear gas until police finally entered the house at around 1pm and decided no one was inside. The male suspect was later taken into custody several streets away, possibly after slipping through the law enforcement perimeter during the siege, police said.

Police chief Shelley Zimmerman said the two officers had stopped a car shortly before 11pm local time (7am BST, Friday) when they called for emergency assistance.

Back-up arrived minutes later to find both officers shot. One was driven to hospital by a colleague but doctors were unable to save his life and he later died of his injuries. The second officer underwent emergency surgery.

On Friday morning police named the dead officer as Jonathan DeGuzman, who was married with two young children. He was the first police victim of a shooting in San Diego since 2011. His partner, Wade Irwin, was expected to survive. Both men were part of the San Diego department's elite gang unit, which was also tasked with investigating the shooting.

Ms Zimmerman said she could not speculate on whether the shooting was a deliberate ambush or attack, saying the investigation was in its early stages.

Eight police officers were murdered in two separate attacks in Dallas and Baton Rouge earlier this month, although the majority of police shootings in the US occur during gun battles with armed suspects.

Tensions remain high in some communities following police killings of several unarmed men.

In a statement, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said: “Violence against the men and women who wear the badge is violence against us all. I ask all San Diegans and all people across our nation to join together in support of our officers who courageously protect our communities. We need them and they need us.”