As authorities scoured Southern California for an ex-Los Angeles police officer suspected of shooting three officers, killing one, officials broadened the alert to include the entire state Thursday morning, and authorities in Nevada were warned.
The California Highway Patrol originally issued a "blue alert" for nine Southern California counties, warning that suspect Christoper Jordan Dorner, 33, was considered "armed and extremely dangerous," early Thursday. Shortly after 9 a.m. that alert was broadened to the include the entire state.
A statewide “high alert” was sent out about 8:30 a.m. across Nevada for Dorner, authorities with the Nevada Highway Patrol said.
PHOTOS: Manhunt for ex-LAPD officer
Arizona authorities were aware of the situation but had not issued any formal alerts, said Officer Carrick Cook with the state's Department of Public Safety.
Local, state and federal authorities are involved in the search for Dorner, who threatened "unconventional and asymmetrical warfare" against police in an online manifesto. Dorner is also wanted in connection with a double homicide Sunday in Irvine, where the daughter of a retired LAPD captain and her fiance were killed.
The search intensified early Thursday after three police officers were shot in Riverside County and Dorner was identified as a possible suspect.
The first shooting occurred about 1:30 a.m. Thursday in Corona, where two Los Angeles Police Department officers were providing protection for someone mentioned in Dorner's manifesto, officials said. One officer suffered a graze wound to the head during a shootout and Dorner fled the scene, police said.
Ex-LAPD officer threatened to kill in online manifesto
A short time later, two Riverside officers were shot at the corner of Magnolia Avenue and Arlington Avenue in Riverside. Toussaint said the officers were sitting at a red light when they were ambushed. One was killed, the other was undergoing surgery Thursday morning.
There was no indication the officers were "actively seeking Dorner," Toussaint said.
“Our officers were stopped at an intersection at a red light when they were ambushed," he said. "Because of the close proximity to the timeline, we believe there is a strong likelihood that former LAPD Officer Christopher Dorner was involved in our incident.”
As authorities swarmed the area, two officer-involved shootings occurred in Torrance after police came across vehicles they thought might be Dorner's.
The first Torrance incident occurred about 5:20 a.m. in the 19500 block of Redbeam Avenue in Torrance, Lt. Devin Chase said. That incident involved Los Angeles police detectives from the Hollywood division, sources said.
Two women delivering newspapers were struck by gunfire and transported to an area hospital with unknown injuries, Chase said. No officers were injured. The women were not identified.
The second incident, which involved Torrance police officers, occurred at Flagler Lane and Beryl Street about 5:45 a.m. No injuries were reported in that incident.
Chase said both incidents involved vehicles matching the description of the one sought in connection with Dorner.
"Now it appears neither of them are directly related," Chase said. "In both of them, officers believed they were at the time."
Authorities said they believe Dorner attempted to steal a boat from an elderly man about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Point Loma Yacht Club in San Diego, hours before the shootings in Riverside County.
The boat owner reported being accosted by a burly man who tied him up, threatened him with a gun and said he wanted the boat to flee to Mexico.
But while they were trying to get underway, a rope became entangled in the propeller and the boat was inoperable, authorities said.
The suspect fled the scene and the boat owner was unharmed.
About 2 a.m., a citizen reported finding property belonging to Dorner on a street near Lindbergh Field, not far from the scene of the attempted boat theft. The property included a briefcase and Dorner's LAPD badge.
In the online manifesto, Dorner specifically named the father of Monica Quan, the Cal State Fullerton assistant basketball coach who was found dead Sunday in Irvine along with her fiance, Keith Lawrence.
Randy Quan, a retired LAPD captain, was involved in the review process that ultimately led to Dorner’s dismissal. A former U.S. Navy reservist, Dorner was fired in 2009 for allegedly making false statements about his training officer. In the manifesto, he complained that Randy Quan and others did not fairly represent him at the review hearing.
“The violence of action will be high .... I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty," Dorner wrote.
Search for ex-cop in shootings extended statewide, into Nevada
This article
Search for ex-cop in shootings extended statewide, into Nevada
can be opened in url
http://newswantek.blogspot.com/2013/02/search-for-ex-cop-in-shootings-extended.html
Search for ex-cop in shootings extended statewide, into Nevada
