Authorities have apprehended four suspects in connection with the fatal shooting of an off-duty Los Angeles police officer who was house hunting with his girlfriend.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LAPD) confirmed the arrests in a news release on Wednesday. However, the LAPD has declined to release the identities of the suspects.
“The moment we can share further details without compromising the investigation, we will provide another update,” the agency said in a news release.
On Monday, 27-year-old LAPD officer Fernando Arroyos was gunned down in South Los Angeles during an attempted robbery, according to authorities.
On Tuesday night, authorities have detained five people – three men and two women – in connection with the murder. However, the LAPD did not say if any of the detained five people were the four suspects taken into custody.
Arroyos was with his girlfriend when he was shot during a gunfight with a suspect. Responding officers rushed him to a nearby hospital in a patrol car. Arroyos eventually died from his injuries.
His girlfriend was not injured in the shooting. Arroyos had been with the LAPD for three-year and was assigned to the department’s Olympic Division.
“He was the only child who had a promising future. A bright future that was taken away viciously over a street robbery,” LAPD Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday.
Soon after Arroyos was hit, another man was also wounded by gunfire a few miles away from the actual shooting. The unidentified man was taken to a hospital, authorities said. It was unclear if both shootings were related.
In a Tuesday statement, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file officers said:
“Officer Arroyos’ death is a grim reminder that safety on the streets of Los Angeles is fleeting and that there is a growing disregard for human life and overt violence festering in our city. There is absolutely no reason why a promising young officer looking to invest in the very community he served is no longer with us.”
