WEST COVINA, Calif. – A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department motorcycle deputy was shot in the back Monday afternoon while sitting on his bike waiting for a red light in West Covina. The gunman remains at large, authorities said.
The shooting transpired just prior to 3 p.m. at the intersection of N. Baranca Street and E. Garvey Avenue, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.
The sheriff said Deputy Samuel Aispuro was sitting on his marked, department issued motorcycle, in uniform, at a red light when he sustained a gunshot wound in the back. The deputy was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital and is expected to recover, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported.
The deputy works out of Century Station in Lynnwood but was in West Covina for training when he was struck by a single bullet at the intersection. The sheriff said there was no interaction leading up to the gunfire, indicating the shooting appeared to be a targeted attack.
An emergency broadcast immediately went out advising the suspect vehicle was a white sedan with tinted windows heading westbound on the 10 Freeway.
Luna said Aispuro was alert and conscious. Moreover, he was saved as a result of the body armor he was wearing.
Soon after, law enforcement authorities surrounded a residence in La Puente. Although several people were initially detained about 3:30 p.m., Luna later confirmed that everyone was subsequently released since they were apparently uninvolved.
“Right now there is someone out there armed with a firearm who shot one of our deputies in the back,” Luna said. “And if he’s willing to do that, I’m sure he’s willing to shoot at anybody else, and we collectively, all of us, need to get him off the streets.”
Aispuro has been with LASD for nearly two decades, according to the sheriff. He is married and has two young children.
UPDATE: LASD announced that an arrest was made Tuesday. The gunman was taken into custody “by another law enforcement agency,” and investigators believe the person “is linked to the shooting” of Deputy Aispuro.
Sheriff Luna said more details would be forthcoming.
