Video shows wounded deputy struggle to aid partner after Compton shooting

COMPTON, Calif. (KABC) -- As a manhunt continues for the gunman who ambushed two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies in Compton, new surveillance footage shows how one deputy struggled to help her partner even as she was bleeding from her own wounds.

The two deputies, a 31-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man, were shot Saturday night as they sat in their patrol vehicle near the Metro station in Compton.

Footage shows a man on foot walk up to their vehicle, aim a handgun at the passenger side window and fire off multiple rounds before running away on foot.

Shortly after the shooting, the female deputy can be seen on surveillance video struggling to place a tourniquet on her partner even as she herself is bleeding from gunshot wounds.

"She helped the other wounded deputy, got on the radio, provided medical care, got him to a place of safety 'cause they didn't know if there was another attack coming their way," Sheriff Alex Villanueva said.

Audio captures a frantic call for help from one of the deputies shortly after the shooting.

"I've been shot. Send help," one of the deputies is heard saying in the radio call.

Both deputies incurred multiple gunshot wounds and are recovering from surgery in stable condition at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood.

A GoFundMe account has been established by a department deputy working with the union to raise funds for the wounded deputies. The GoFundMe page raised more than $140,000 in its first 24 hours.

Rewards are also being offered to catch the shooter.

The county is offering a $100,000 reward and Sheriff Alex Villanueva said two private donors have stepped up to add another $75,000.

The county Metropolitan Transportation Authority is adding $25,000 to the reward. The deputies were working for Metro's Transit Services Bureau when they were shot. Metro will also place reward notices on A Line trains and at the Compton station.

Villanueva also challenged Laker star LeBron James, who has been outspoken on social-justice issues and the Black Lives Matter movement, to double the reward.

"I know you care about law enforcement,'' Villanueva said. "You expressed a very, very interesting statement about your perspective on race relations and officer-involved shootings and the impact that it has on the African-American community and I appreciate that. But likewise we need to appreciate that respect for life goes across professions across races, creeds, and I'd like to see LeBron James step up to the plate and double that.''

Anyone with information was encouraged to contact the Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can be left for L.A. Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).

The shooting comes after months of renewed tension and community protests against law enforcement after a series of high-profile police-involved shootings and use-of-force incidents, including George Floyd in Minnesota and Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. Locally, some groups have been protesting the fatal shooting by deputies of Andres Guardado in Gardena.

Saturday night as the two deputies were at St. Francis undergoing surgery, several people showed up at the hospital to confront deputies and make anti-law-enforcement statements. The department said some in the group were chanting "We hope they die."

As that happened, a reporter for KPCC got caught up in the deputies' confrontation with the group and deputies took her to the ground and placed her under arrest.

Other activists in Los Angeles who have recently been protesting the Sheriff's Department and the Andres Guardado incident denounced the Compton shooting.

"Our coalition is against unjustified murder," said Los Angeles activist Najee Ali. "We don't care where it comes from. Whether it comes from gang members, urban terrorists. Or whether it comes from the Sheriff's Department."

Some elected officials say the anti-police rhetoric of recent months may have contributed to the shooting.

"The events of this weekend have made it clear to me that the anti-law-enforcement rhetoric expressed by many elected officials, community leaders and others has created a toxic environment amid the time of civil unrest," said Kathryn Barger, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

City News Service contributed to this report.

A small crowd of demonstrators gathered outside a Lywood hospital Saturday night where two L.A. County Sheriff's deputies are being treated. Shortly after, a local radio reporter was arrested during a scuffle with deputies.