A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy was ambushed and killed Saturday night, shot in the head by an unidentified attacker while sitting in his patrol cruiser outside the Palmdale station.
Sheriff Robert Luna called it a "targeted act" and speculated that Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer may have been killed because he worked in law enforcement.
“Somebody decided to shoot and murder him, I’m assuming, at this point, because he was in uniform,” Luna said at the late-night news conference.
A passerby found Clinkunbroomer unconscious in his vehicle at the intersection of Avenue Q and Sierra Highway around 6 p.m., officials said. The deputy was rushed to a Lancaster hospital in critical condition.
"Despite the medical staff's best efforts to save our deputy's life, regrettably he succumbed to his injuries," Luna said.
Though Luna said the incident may have been captured on surveillance video, he said that investigators are still analyzing the footage and are not releasing it at this time.
Security video shared with The Times shows a black car pulling up behind the deputy's cruiser and pausing. Seconds later, the black car pulls up a little farther, stops at the driver's side of the cruiser and pauses again.
Then, the black car speeds off. The deputy's vehicle drifts forward a foot or two and stops moving.
It's not clear what circumstances led to the shooting, and authorities have not released any information about potential suspects.
Clinkunbroomer, 30, joined the department eight years ago and came from a family of law enforcement.
"He’s third-generation," Luna said. "His father served with us. His grandfather served with us. Service was running through his veins."
He transferred to the Palmdale station in July 2018 and worked as a field training officer for 1½ years — a position that Luna said is usually reserved for the "best of the best."
Four days before his death, the deputy had gotten engaged to be married, Luna said.
Palmdale Mayor Laura Bettencourt called him a "hero" and vowed that the killer would be caught.
"The person that did that is a coward and they will be caught," she said at the news conference.
Derek Hsieh, executive director of the Assn. for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs union, said the ambush has sparked anger and sadness in the law enforcement community.
"It’s an outrage," he told The Times. "An ambush is a targeted attack against law enforcement and it sends a really clear message."
Late Saturday night, he said that others in law enforcement had begun reaching out in solidarity.
"I have received calls of support from other law enforcement agencies and an elected official who offered to use her own personal money if an award needs to be offered," Hsieh said.
L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn called the shooting "senseless and horrific."
"Tonight I’m praying for him, his friends, fellow deputies at @PalmdaleSheriff, and especially his loved ones," she wrote Saturday night in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger in a statement mourned the loss and called for justice.
"There are a lot of unanswered questions — including who committed this heinous and brazen attack and why," she said. "Whoever is responsible must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and brought to swift justice."
Luna stressed that authorities are asking for the public's help in finding the shooter and encouraged witnesses to call homicide investigators at (323) 890-5500.
"We’re gonna catch the person who did this," he said. "Somebody saw something. Somebody knows something."
The Palmdale station put out its own tribute.
"Words cannot express the shock, sadness and anger over this senseless loss of an exemplary deputy and an even better human being. Deputy Clinkunbroomer strived for excellence in everything he did. He was very thorough in his investigations, genuinely cared for the community he served, and he was always willing to help out his partners any time they needed it. We are numb with grief and are grasping to come to terms with the fact that he has left a very big void within our station family," the statement read.
"Ryan, we are so very sorry for your family and your fiance. Rest assured, we will do our very best to take care of them in your absence and make sure they know that they are ALWAYS a part of our family."
Saturday's shooting comes three years after two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were severely wounded when they were shot several times ambush-style while sitting in their parked patrol car in Compton. The suspect, who was caught on surveillance video, was later arrested.
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