Four days after getting engaged, a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy was slain when he was attacked and shot in the head while in his patrol car on Saturday, according to police.
According to Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, 30, was found unconscious outside the Palmdale sheriff’s station around 6 o’clock on Saturday.
Clinkunbroomer was taken by emergency vehicle about 10 miles away to Antelope Valley Medical Center in Lancaster, where his status was listed as critical until he passed away from his wounds.
“I’m assuming at this point because he was in uniform. That, to me, is sickening,” Luna said.
The gunman remains at large as of Sunday morning.
“We’re gonna catch the person who did this,” Luna said. “Every resource that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has to bear is going after you.”
A witness captured the dramatic scene on camera as several patrol cars rushed the deputy to the hospital.
AdvertisementPalmdale Ca:Deputy Down(750 E Avenue Q At the Palmdale Sheriffs station)Deputy down at station.LASD units doing critical roll to AVMC.Deputy at hospital requesting 4 additional units to hospital & 2 Lancaster units to Palmdale Sheriffs pic.twitter.com/6DYW2LOnji
— ScannerAntelopeValley (@ImIntoFires) September 17, 2023
According to Luna, investigators are looking into a video that shows a vehicle slowly approaching a LASD vehicle just before the incident.
According to security footage examined by Fox News reporter Bill Melugin, the deputy was in his squad car stopped at a red light close to the station when a black automobile is seen apparently driving up alongside him.
The deputy’s patrol car steadily advances before coming to a stop as the black sedan pulls away a short while later, according to Melugin.
During the press conference, Luna took a break from reading his notes to plead with the public to assist in identifying the individual who committed the heinous murder.
We desperately need your assistance. This man must be removed from the streets. Guy or guys,” emphasized Luna. “He poses a risk to public safety. One of our deputies was slain in an ambush by him.
After around eight years with the agency, Clinkunbroomer moved to the Palmdale station in July 2018.
The officer had been a field training officer for nearly two years.
He was a third-generation LASD member, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.
“Just about everybody worked with his father,” Luna said of senior members in the LASD. “We’re hurting because we lost somebody. It always hurts.”
“They try to prepare you for this and no matter how much they do, it hurts bad.”
