Gun battle on Riverside freeway injures suspect and cops, Calif. officials say
Two officers were injured in a gun battle with a suspect on a freeway in Riverside, California, on Monday night, according to Los Angeles-area media reports.
An officer-involved shooting report came in around 6 p.m. on the 215 Freeway near Eastridge Avenue and Box Springs Boulevard, with aerial video capturing “patrol cruisers with bullet holes and a white truck” that was reportedly the suspect’s, according to CBSLA. KABC described the incident as a “shootout.”
Two California Highway Patrol officers were seriously hurt during the encounter, with video showing one pulled to safety by fellow officers and another “lying near the suspect’s vehicle” before being “rescued and airlifted to a hospital,” FOX 11 reported.
Video also captured “the suspect lying incapacitated in front of the suspect vehicle” when officers swarmed the scene, according to FOX 11.
Riverside Police Department Officer Ryan Railsback said CHP officers fired at the man after he fired at them, adding that the suspect is now “down and neutralized,” NBC Los Angeles reported.
There was a trail of blood and blood on the white truck’s hood, as well as police cruisers with bullet-damaged windshields at the scene, according to NBC.
“On the sidewalk near the truck, lay a rifle where paramedics could be seen giving CPR to a man in the gutter,” NBC reported.
The incident shut down the highway, with Caltrans asking drivers to stay away and nearby train service diverted, the Los Angeles Times reported.
This story was originally published August 12, 2019 at 7:31 PM with the headline "Gun battle on Riverside freeway injures suspect and cops, Calif. officials say."
