Three California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers were shot — one fatally — in Riverside on Monday night in what officers called a “long and horrific gun battle.”
CHP Officer Andre Moye Jr., 33, was conducting a traffic stop of a suspect driving a truck, who has since been identified as Aaron Luther, when he decided to impound the vehicle, ABC 7 Los Angeles reported, citing police.
Luther — a married 49-year-old father of two from Beaumont — pulled a rifle from inside his truck and began firing at Moye while he was making arrangements for a tow truck and filling out paperwork.
RIVERSIDE SHOOTOUT: Family members have identified the suspected gunman in deadly gun battle with CHP as Aaron Luther, a Beaumont resident https://t.co/jeAs0AXoJX pic.twitter.com/hbzX7wlhAI
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) August 13, 2019
Three additional CHP officers, along with three deputies, arrived at the scene and continued a gun battle with the suspect, who managed to shoot and seriously injure two other officers, including one who is in critical condition, before he was shot dead.
“It was a long and horrific gun battle,” Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz said, according to ABC 7. “And it resulted in a very extensive crime scene.” (RELATED: NYPD Cops Doused With Water, Struck In String Of Assaults — Officer Unions Are Infuriated)
Moye was rushed to a hospital in Moreno Valley, where he was pronounced dead. He was married and had been an officer for about four years, according to his family.
SLAIN OFFICER SALUTED: Officers from across the Inland Empire lined up to salute CHP Officer Andre Moye, who was killed in a shootout yesterday on the 215 Freeway in Riverside. https://t.co/PVyZHbCnQE pic.twitter.com/1NKDVCant7
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) August 13, 2019
“I am devastated by the tragedy that unfolded earlier in Riverside,” CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley said on Twitter. “Tonight, I mourn the loss of one of our own, CHP Officer Andre Moye, who was killed during a shootout following a traffic stop. Prayers go out to all, including the responding officers injured in the shooting.”
I am devastated by the tragedy that unfolded earlier in Riverside. Tonight, I mourn the loss of one of our own, CHP Officer Andre Moye, who was killed during a shootout following a traffic stop. Prayers go out to all, including the responding officers injured in the shooting.
— Warren Stanley (@CHPCommissioner) August 13, 2019
Luther’s father told Eyewitness News that Luther was an ex-con who had served time in prison for attempted murder.
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