Associated Press
UPDATE 2:56 p.m. (PST):
Authorities say a man accused of shooting two California police officers ā killing one of them ā has been arrested after a standoff that lasted more than 15 hours.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell says the suspect was taken into custody shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday.
Authorities say Pomona police officers chased the suspect into an apartment complex after the man led them on a pursuit Friday night.
The suspect fired through the door and shot one of the officers. A second officer who tried to pull his wounded comrade to safety was shot in the face.
Officer Gregory Casillas was pronounced dead. The wounded officer was expected to recover.
Pomona Police Chief Michael Olivieri said Casillas started with the police department as a records clerk in 2014 and became a police officer in September.
UPDATE 1:03 p.m. (PST):
Coroner’s officials have identified a Southern California police officer who was fatally shot by a barricaded suspect after a pursuit.
Los Angeles County coroner’s Lt. Dave Smith identified the Pomona police officer Saturday as 30-year-old Gregory Casillas, of Upland.
The @PomonaPD Officer has been identified as Gregory Casillas. He was shot & killed as he attempted to arrest a man. Officer Casillas had served with the Pomona Police Department for six months. He was 25 years old. #NeverForgotten #OfficerDown pic.twitter.com/ZMbIgmiuka
ā Hickory Creek Police (@PoliceCreek) March 10, 2018
Investigators say Casillas had chased the suspect into an apartment complex after the man led police on a pursuit Friday night.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s Capt. Christopher Bergner says the suspect fired through the door, striking Casillas and another officer. He says the other officer was undergoing surgery Saturday but was expected to survive.
The suspect remains barricaded in the apartment.
Original story below.
POMONA, Calif. ā A gunman who shot two police officers, killing one of them, held a SWAT team at bay on Saturday as he barricaded himself inside an apartment and showed no signs of giving up more than 12 hours after the standoff began, authorities said.
Police in Southern California tried to stop the man around 9 p.m. Friday after receiving a call about reckless driving, but he refused to pull over and led officers on a pursuit, Los Angeles sheriff’s Capt. Christopher Bergner said. The man crashed during the chase and fled into an apartment complex.
The officers pursued the suspect and he barricaded himself inside an apartment, and shot two Pomona police officers, Bergner said.
We don the uniform this morning with heavy hearts as weāve lost a brother in #Pomona. Please keep the men and women of the @PomonaPD / @PomonaPOA in our prayers. RIP Brother. pic.twitter.com/TAaegYDtVK
ā Burbank Police (@BurbankPD) March 10, 2018
The wounded officer was undergoing surgery Saturday and was expected to recover, he said.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must report that one officer did not survive. The second officer is in stable condition,” Pomona Police Chief Michael Olivieri said in a tweet early Saturday.
The names of the officers were not immediately released.
BREAKING: Officer shot in Pomona. Callout for a barricaded suspect. Working to get info from police. Live updates on @nbcla at 11 pic.twitter.com/LHf26bWxrH
ā Rick Montanez (@RickNBCLA) March 10, 2018
A SWAT team surrounded the apartment complex and police used flash-bang grenades during the standoff, officials said. But the suspect remained holed up in the apartment Saturday morning and police said it wasn’t clear how many weapons he might have.
Outside the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, dozens of police cars lined the streets and officers saluted as the slain officer’s body was brought there in a procession Saturday morning.
Procession to the coroner begins :(#Pomona #PomonaPD #BlueLivesMatter #MAGA #LawEnforcement pic.twitter.com/aTl7lvuJ06
ā ???? Miguelifornia (@michaelbeatty3) March 10, 2018
Investigators believe the suspect is alone in the apartment but have not confirmed his identity, Bergner said. Crisis negotiators were speaking with the suspect throughout the night, he said.
