A Santa Cruz County (CA) Sheriff Deputy was killed and a second deputy was severely injured by an improvised explosive device during “an ambush” in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart said the dead deputy was 38-year-old Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, who had been with the department since 2006 and was married with a small child and a second child on the way.
Deputies responded to a 911 call at 1:30 p.m. of a suspicious van parked off the road.
According to CBS5, “the caller saw guns and bomb making materials inside the van.”
Gutzwiller and another deputy responded and saw the van driving away. They tracked it to a home in Ben Lomond. When they got out of their vehicles they “were ambushed with gunfire and improvised explosive devices.”
“Sergeant Damon Gutzwiller was shot and taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead,” Hart said. “Another deputy was either shot or struck by shrapnel and struck by a car as the suspect fled the property. We are hopeful the deputy will recover.”
The suspect was tracked down by other officers and wounded in his apprehension.
A CHP officer also suffered an arm wound in the incident and was expected to survive.
