PALM SPRINGS, California (LOS ANGELES TIMES) – 12 hours after the fatal shooting of Officer Jose “Gil” Vega and Officer Lesley Zerebny, the suspect has finally been caught and taken into custody.
According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, a little before 1 a.m. on Sunday, 12 hours or so after the fatal shooting of Officer Vega and Officer Zerebny, the suspect was taken into custody.
Law enforcement set up a four-block perimeter in the neighborhood where the fatal shooting occurred, said Chief Bryan Reyes.
The police officers went to the scene in the 2700 block of Cypress Road shortly after noon. The officers had tried to make contact with the suspect, however the suspect was verbally combative and said that he would shoot the police officers through the front door.
“They were responding to a simple family disturbance and [the gunman] elected to open fire,” said Chief Reyes.
The deceased officers are Officer Jose “Gil” Vega, a 35-year veteran of the Palm Springs department who was due to retire in December, and Officer Lesley Zerebny, who is the mother of a 4-month-old baby. Chief Reyes said that the third officer who was shot during the incident was doing well after being treated at the hospital and was helping investigators.
The Palm Springs Police Department ended up turning the investigation into the shooting over to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Chief Reyes explained.
“Today Palm Springs lost two of its brave officers,” an emotional Chief Reyes stated. “They go out every day with their boots on the ground. They gave their all for you,” said Chief Reyes.
On Saturday, law enforcement ended up using a remote-controlled robot to open the door to the suspect’s residence.
An individual, Frances Serrano, who lives in the same area as the suspect said that she was coming out of her garage in the afternoon on Saturday when her neighbor [the suspect’s father] ran out of his own garage seeking the attention of Frances.
“He said, “Help. I need help. My son is in the house, and he’s crazy. He has a gun. He’s ready to shoot all the police,’ ” Frances said that this is what the suspect’s father was saying to her.
The suspect’s father “was very nervous,” said Frances. “He was afraid of his son,” she added.
Frances, 65, said she called law enforcement, and as soon as she began walking back into her house, she heard gunshots, “starting with a loud — I mean really loud — ‘bang!,'” Frances explained in regard to the shooting.
“Police officers and the suspect appeared to be exchanging gunfire,” Frances added.
Another neighbor, Juan Graciano, 67, who lives a block away from the suspect’s house, said he saw the attempts made by police officers who were trying to revive Officer Zerebny. Juan said he was out in his yard about 1 p.m. when he saw a crowd gathering at the corner of Cypress and Delgado roads.
“I saw a woman officer who had been laid down in the trunk of a police cruiser,” Juan said. “There were about four officers around her. I watched as they picked her up and laid her down on the street and began administering CPR. A few minutes later paramedics arrived and took her away,” Juan explained of the incident.
Former Palm Springs police chief, Lee Weigel, also former city councilman, learned of the shooting while out of town Saturday at his son’s baseball game.
Former Police Chief Weigel said, “It makes you weak in the knees.”
The Palm Springs police department is a small department compared to other departments in California and “everyone knows one another,” said Former Police Chief Weigel, who was employed in the police department for 32 years.
The Palm Springs police department is comprised of 98 sworn officers. The last time a police officer was killed in the line of duty was around five decades ago.
“It’s a family,” Former Police Chief Weigel explained. “This is the worst incident in the history of Palm Springs in terms of officer shootings…. This is shocking, a blow to the entire department and community,” added Former Police Chief Weigel.
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