TWO
LOS ANGELES POLICE OFFICERS AMBUSHED AND SHOT IN COMPTON AS BLM RIOTERS BEGIN
PROTESTING AT HOSPITAL SHOUTING ‘WE HOPE THEY DIE!’
Protesters reportedly shouting slogans like
"Death to the police!" showed up to the Los
Angeles area hospital treating two law enforcement officers who were ambushed and shot on Saturday.
"To the protesters blocking the entrance
[and] exit of the HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM yelling 'We hope they
die' referring to 2 LA Sheriff's ambushed today in #Compton: DO NOT BLOCK
EMERGENCY ENTRIES [AND] EXITS TO THE HOSPITAL. People's lives are at stake
when ambulances can't get through," the LA County Sheriff's Department
wrote on Twitter early Sunday morning.
A local faith leader who was at the
hospital told a KABC reporter that the protesters tried to get into the
emergency room.
"They were saying 'Death to the police' and
'Kill the police,' and these are sheriffs, but the message is still the
same. They were using all types of curse words and derogatory terms," he
told KABC. "Unacceptable behavior, because a hospital should be a sanctuary."
The officers are being treated at St. Francis Medical
Center in Lynwood, Calif., the Long Beach Press-Telegram reported.
Video posted online showed protesters being prevented
from walking farther onto hospital grounds and arguing with hospital security
over whether the hospital is public or private property.
Protesters could be heard shouting at one officer who
appeared to point some sort of weapon at the protesters.
"That's why you're dying one by one, you stupid
f---s," a man can be heard saying. "Y'all gonna die one by one. This
ain't gonna stop."
"You're next with the f------ hot pocket," a
man shouted.
"I want to deliver a message to the family of the
[inaudible]: I hope they f------ die," a man yelled.
Law enforcement arrested one man and one woman, who was
later identified as a member of the press, amid the protests.
A local radio reporter was also apparently arrested amid
the chaos. County Undersheriff Tim Murakami said he was looking into the
arrest, according to a reporter with KPCC Public Radio. In an update, he said the reporter was being released but would be
charged with a misdemeanor.
The sheriff's office later
confirmed an adult female, who was later identified as a member of the
press, was arrested. Authorities did not immediately identify the woman.
She had run toward deputies while a male protester was
being arrested for failing to comply with dispersal orders at the hospital, the
sheriff's office said. While the man struggled with deputies, the sheriff's
office said the woman ignored repeated commands to stay back and
interfered with the arrest.
The woman had not identified herself as a member of the
press, according to the sheriff's office, and later admitted she did not
have proper press credentials on her person.
The deputies, a 24-year-old man and a
31-year-old woman, were both in critical condition and “fighting for their
lives” as they underwent surgery following the attack, which occurred around 7
p.m. local time outside a Metro rail station in Compton, according to the
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
"Moments ago, 2 of our Sheriff Deputies were shot in
Compton and were transported to a local hospital," the department tweeted.
"They are both still fighting for their lives, so please keep them in your
thoughts and prayers."
The deputies were out of surgery by 11 p.m. PT, according
to KABC-TV.
President
Trump, who held a rally in Nevada on Saturday night, responded on Twitter
after the sheriff's department tweeted out a grainy video that shows the
suspect approaching the parked patrol vehicle and firing shots inside the
vehicle's passenger-side window.
"Animals that must be hit hard!" Trump wrote,
referring to criminals who target law enforcement.
Both deputies were sworn in just over a year ago and the
female deputy is the mother of a 6-year-old boy, officials said in a 10 p.m.
news conference. Both of their families were rallying around them at the
hospital.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva said while authorities don't have
a detailed suspect description, one of the deputies described the shooter as a
"dark-skinned male."
Villanueva said the shooting shows the dangers officers
face in the streets and how situations can change in "the blink of an
eye."
Fox News' Brie Stimson and Stephen
Sorace contributed to this report.
