Three Los Angeles police officers wounded during a shootout in Lincoln Heights last week remain under guard as they recover from their injuries.
The Los Angeles Police Department said the officers are being guarded because the gunman, whom they identified as 32-year-old Jonathan Magaña, was a member of a street gang known for violence.
“The person they came against was armed and apparently willing to attempt to take their lives. And I'm grateful that they were able to survive it,” LAPD Chief Michael Moore said during an LA Police Commission meeting Tuesday – the first oversight meeting to be held in person in three years.
Moore said Magaña was armed with two handguns – one an unregistered, home-made “ghost gun” – and it appeared Magaña shot himself after the gunfight.
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Magaña, who was wanted for questioning in an extortion case, as well as for violating the rules of his parole, hid out in an apartment under construction. Moore said he fired first. One officer was shot in the arm, another was shot in the leg and the third was shot in the upper body.
The chief said Magaña was wounded when officers returned fire and ultimately died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.
Police commission President William Briggs addressed what he said was misinformation being spread online about the shootout, reflected in comments sent to the board of police commissioners.
“…these submissions grossly mischaracterize the incident and paint the officers as murderers who killed someone in an unprovoked shooting. This is blatantly false,” Briggs said.
The three wounded officers are recovering at home. They’re expected to make a full recovery and return to work.
