Deputy dies after being found in distress at Palmdale Station

PALMDALE, Calif. – A sheriff’s deputy was transported to a hospital Saturday evening in has died after being shot in his patrol car in front of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Palmdale station, according to the LASD.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna confirmed the deputies death.

“We need to get this guy off the street…He’s a public safety threat. He ambushed and killed murdered one of our deputies. We need your help to get him off the street,” said Luna.

“Ryan was just engaged four days ago,” says Sheriff Luna of murdered deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer

Around 9:30 p.m., the department tweeted that the deputy was shot in his patrol car and transported in critical condition.

The Los Angeles Police Department’s Harbor Division tweeted just before 9 p.m.: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Palmdale deputy … that was ambushed while sitting inside his police vehicle.”

Around 9:15 p.m., KCAL News reported that sources said the deputy was stopped in a patrol car at a red light at the time of the shooting, and that he was hospitalized in “grave condition.”

KCAL broadcast video from the scene that appears to show a suspect vehicle drive up behind the patrol vehicle, then pull alongside momentarily before speeding away.

A videographer at the scene reported that the deputy went down front of the station, at Sierra Highway and East Avenue Q, and was initially transported in a patrol car, then via ambulance. He added that Sierra Highway was blocked off from Technology Drive to Palmdale Boulevard, among other area closures, including Sixth Street East between Avenue Q and Palmdale Boulevard.