2 Officers Die in Ambush Killings. Enter the FBI

Steven Carrillo, 32, is arrested in California
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 7, 2020 5:05 PM CDT
FBI Seeks Link Between 2 Ambush Killings of Officers
This photo provided by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office shows Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller. Gutzwiller was shot and killed Saturday, June 6, 2020, in Ben Lomond, an unincorporated area near Santa Cruz, Calif., when he and two other law enforcement officers were ambushed by a suspect.   (Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

The FBI and local investigators are trying to determine a possible link between the ambush-style killing of a Northern California sheriff's deputy Saturday night and that of a federal officer who was fatally shot outside the US courthouse in Oakland more than a week ago, the AP reports. The FBI office in San Francisco confirmed Sunday its investigators were working with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department to determine a possible motive, and links to other crimes committed in the San Francisco Bay Area, including the attack that killed a Federal Protection Service officer and critically wounded another officer on May 29. Both involved shooters in a van.

An active-duty US Air Force sergeant has been arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting Santa Cruz Sheriff's Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, 38, and wounding two other officers. Deputies responded to a 911 call around 1:30pm Saturday about a suspicious van near Santa Cruz. When deputies arrived, the van pulled away and led deputies to a home where they were ambushed by gunfire and explosives. Gutzwiller was wounded and later died; another deputy was wounded, and a highway patrol officer was shot in the hand. Authorities say the suspect, 32-year-old Steven Carrillo, attempted a carjacking and also was shot during his arrest. He was being treated at the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. Carrillo will be charged with first-degree murder.

(More FBI stories.)

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