Reward for Gunman Who Shot 2 Deputies Swells, Now Dwarfs Bounties on FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted List
A reward of almost $700,000 is now being offered for information leading to the capture and subsequent conviction of the gunman who shot two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies at close range last week.
“The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors had initially authorized a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction,” ABC News reported.
However, as of Thursday, the reward had grown to around $675,000 due to generous contributions, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
The Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs contributed $75,000 and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority contributed $25,000.
A total of $75,000 was added to the reward by a pair of private donors, KABC-TV reported.
The $675,000 dwarfs most of the rewards that the FBI is offering for information leading to the arrest of its 10 most wanted fugitives.
For the majority of those fugitives, the rewards range from $100,000 to $200,000.
The incident took place at about 7 p.m. local time Saturday near a train station in Compton, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Surveillance video from Saturday showed the suspect walking up to the passenger’s side of the parked car the deputies were in and firing several times at close range.
The video showed the suspect fleeing on foot, and authorities quickly launched a massive manhunt to find him.
WARNING: The video below contains graphic violence that some viewers may find disturbing:
Update: The gunman walked up on the deputies and opened fire without warning or provocation. pic.twitter.com/cBQjyKkoxJ
— LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) September 13, 2020
The shooter is believed to be a black male between the ages of 28 and 30.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva said that a 24-year-old male deputy who was shot in the forehead, arms and a hand was released from the hospital on Wednesday.
“He has a long road ahead for recovery. But he’s not alone. We, as a community, are in this together,” Villanueva tweeted.
He later clarified to “Nightline” that “the deputy had been released from the intensive care unit and is close to being released from the hospital,” ABC reported.
“The deputy will need additional surgeries on his arm, Villanueva said.”
The other wounded deputy has been described as a 31-year-old mother of a 6-year-old boy.
Despite being shot, she was able to get out of the vehicle and administer first aid to her partner after radioing for help.
“This is going to cause us to be a lot more concerned about when we approach vehicles when we’re out there on the streets,” Villanueva said of the shooting.
“We have everybody paired up in two-man vehicles now. So, we’re going to have to be watching out for each other’s backs out there on the streets.”
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