Three more police officers have been killedin California, and another critically injured. The police are victims of a shooting that occurred during a family disturbance call near Palm Springs. The police killings are sure to raise fears of social anarchy in one of the nation’s bluest states and following theexecution of a sheriff’s deputy in Lancaster, California earlier this week. Lancaster is 130 miles northeast in Los Angeles County. In that case, police say a black male stood over a white officer after wounding him with one shot and pumped four additional rounds into his body before stealing his squad car and ramming it into another deputy’s car.
Officers were responding to a burglary call
All three officers shot Saturday were from the Palm Springs Police Department. The shootings prompted a large response from local law enforcement, however the shooter(s) had not been taken into custody at press time. According to a Los Angeles Times report, police are still dealing with an “active crime scene."
Shootings follow killing of five officers in Texas
Recently five police officers were ambushed and killed in Texas and police have been attacked and murdered in other cities this year including New York City and Chicago. The phenomenon is becoming commonplace as the Black Lives Matter movement grows and becomes increasingly violent.
At approximately 3 p.m., the manager of a hotel located in the vicinity of the shootings said a helicopter had been circling overhead for an hour-and-a-half which was unusual for the small community.
That witness added that a heavy police presence quickly ensued. The Desert Sun newspaperreported that the medical condition of the surviving officer is unknown except that he is in critical condition.
Police ambushes becoming increasingly common
The suspect in the Lancaster police killing last Wednesday is now in custody, however the shooter in this afternoon's killings in still on the loose.
In 2016, a number of police officers have been executed while sitting in their squad cars, while others have been ambushed and killed after responding to calls for help that were actually bait for ambushes.
