LAPD identifies suspect in shooting of 3 officers in Lincoln Heights
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles police on Thursday identified the suspect who allegedly shot and wounded three officers in Lincoln Heights as a 32-year-old wanted parolee who was found dead hours after the standoff.
The gunman was identified as Jonathan Magana. He was on parole at the time of the shooting following a prison sentence for two counts of second-degree robbery, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Magana was released to parole supervision in April 2022 after completing about two years of a five-year sentence for the Los Angeles County robbery conviction, according to the California prisons department. He was released early because he received credits under good conduct and program participation guidelines.
He had previously been convicted of possession of ammunition by a former felon and possession of a firearm by a felon in separate cases, the corrections agency said.
RELATED: 3 LAPD officers shot by parolee at large in Lincoln Heights; suspect dead
It was not immediately clear if Magana was fatally shot by police or died of a self-inflicted wound after the shootout and lengthy standoff with police.
On Wednesday, LAPD officers were looking for a parolee at large, later identified as Magana, around 4 p.m. But when they found him, he was barricaded in a shed and refused to obey commands to surrender, the department said. Attempts to de-escalate the situation were unsuccessful, police said.
With the suspect still refusing to comply, officers eventually "utilized gas to get compliance from the individual," LAPD Assistant Chief Al Labrada said at a news conference Wednesday night outside LAC+USC Medical Center, where the officers were hospitalized.
Following that deployment of gas, the suspect stepped into an alleyway and opened fire on police sometime after 6 p.m., Labrada said.
Three officers, all from canine units, were struck by gunfire, and fellow officers pulled them from the line of fire as police shot back at the suspect, authorities said.
The officers were taken to the hospital while a standoff ensued with the suspect, who was holed up inside a lower-level room off the alley. LAPD SWAT officers deployed three robots into the alley to get a look at the suspect, who was ultimately determined to be "down," and later pronounced dead.
The wounded officers, all senior officers and members of a Los Angeles Police Department K-9 dog-handling unit, were expected to survive their injuries after Wednesday's shooting. Two were expected to be released from the hospital Thursday while the third, who was in stable condition, will remain for more treatment.
"We thank the LA City Fire Department and hospital staff who have provided the best possible treatment to the injured officers," LAPD tweeted.
The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this report.
