A California police officer found dead was likely targeted and murdered, officials say.
Officer Ricardo Galvez was on duty but not in his uniform late Wednesday night when two male suspects ran up to his car and fatally shot him before fleeing in a vehicle. The attack lasted only moments, and police are still looking for at least one more suspect. Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told The Los Angeles Times “it appears the officer was targeted,” and the attack does not “look like it was random.”
“It’s pretty brazen,” Corina said. “These people obviously, for whatever reason, were targeting this officer, or appears to be targeting this officer. In that they were that brazen, that they weren’t afraid to attack him in the back of the police station, thinking they can get away with that.”
Galvez, a former Marine and five-year veteran, worked at the Downey Police Department about 13 miles southwest of Los Angeles.
“Every day, the brave men and women of our Downey Police Department put themselves at personal risk to keep us all safe,” Mayor Luis H. Marquez said in a statement. “We are incredibly sorrowed at the loss of Officer Galvez and our thoughts and prayers are with all who knew and loved him.”
Downey morns the loss of Officer Ricardo Galvez, who was tragically shot & killed around 11 p.m. Wednesday evening. pic.twitter.com/NATkz6egPK
— Downey PD (@DowneyPolice) November 19, 2015
“Please keep our Downey police officer, his family and the Downey Police Department in your thoughts and prayers,” Mayor Pro Tem Alex Saab said in a statement. “This is a difficult time for the entire Downey community.”
Follow Casey on Twitter and like him on Facebook
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.