More than 100 police, sheriff's detectives and federal agents scoured south Sacramento late Wednesday night in a massive manhunt for the killer of a Sacramento County sheriff's deputy.
Detective Vu Nguyen, 37, died Wednesday evening from a bullet wound to the neck.
About 2 p.m., Nguyen was scaling backyard fences in pursuit of a young man in a puffy camouflage jacket when his partner heard shots ring out.
The partner found Nguyen lying in a backyard, his gun drawn.
Sheriff's spokesman Tim Curran said Nguyen was in the neighborhood with his partner to make routine contacts with gang members, gathering intelligence on ongoing cases. The men wore sheriff's vests and plain clothes and drove an unmarked car.
Curran said Nguyen and his partner pulled up at a house where known gang members live and made eye contact with a slender, 5-foot-4 Asian man, whom they did not know.
Officials said the suspect appeared to be 18 to 20 years old, or maybe even younger.
Sheriff John McGinness appeared subdued as he broke the news Wednesday evening that the officer had not survived. It was the second time in 15 months that he had lost a deputy.
"This is the time to be strong and stay focused and committed to our job, which is to make the streets safer," McGinness said. "We'll pay appropriate tribute to our fallen officer at the right time."
At a second news conference about 9 p.m., he said the search for the gunman was the "top priority above anything else."
The sheriff said Nguyen and others in law enforcement understand the risk they take each day protecting the community.
"The courage within him allowed him to go out and confront that risk. Unfortunately, he paid the ultimate price," McGinness said.
The sheriff said Nguyen was the department's first deputy of Asian descent to be killed in the line of duty.
The perimeter around the shooting scene had been removed Wednesday night, but the search continued, McGinness said.
Officers were questioning residents of the house where Nguyen spotted the young man for information about him and his whereabouts.
"This is a very active scene out there," McGinness said.
Nguyen's slaying sparked lockdowns at area schools that affected thousands of elementary through high school age children. By 7 p.m. there were still 52 students at two schools who had not been picked up by family members; they were taken home by bus.
Curran said that after Nguyen began chasing the suspect, his partner drove around the block, hoping to head off the young man.
The partner broadcast a "foot pursuit" on the police radio and called for officers to rush to the area and form a perimeter, Curran said.
Then he heard two gunshots.
Nguyen's partner parked and ran into a backyard near 37th Street and 41st Avenue, where he found Nguyen shot in the neck.
Nguyen's service revolver was drawn, McGinness said, noting that it's not clear whether it had been fired.
Nguyen was transported by ambulance to UC Davis Medical Center, where he underwent surgery Wednesday afternoon and was later pronounced dead.
Officers streamed to the area, driving six and eight cars side by side on Highway 99, pouring into the parking lot at the Campbell's Soup plant, which became an impromptu command center.
Officers in SWAT gear and with canines spread out in the neighborhood, known among law enforcement officials as a haven for gang and drug activity. The sheriff's helicopter and a CHP plane thundered overheard.
McGinness said deputies found a weapon, but it may not be the gun used in the shooting.
Onlooker Rich Mott said he'd never seen so many police cars, as cruisers lined both sides and the median of Franklin Boulevard for a half-mile.
"This is just incredible," he said. "If this is the way they respond when one of theirs is shot – good for them."
Fifteen months ago, deputies fanned out over the rolling hills near Sloughhouse after Deputy Jeffrey Mitchell was slain during a routine traffic stop in the early-morning hours of Oct. 27, 2006.
Call The Bee's Christina Jewett, (916) 321-1201. Steve Magagnini and Laurel Rosenhall contributed to this report.
