Deputy Shot, Badly Wounded in Lynwood Park

A deputy from the sheriff’s gang enforcement unit was gravely wounded by gunfire during a confrontation with suspected gang members in Ham Memorial Park in Lynwood on Friday night, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

The department said the deputy, who was not immediately identified, had been patrolling the park with a partner about 8:20 p.m. when they spotted two young men they believed to be gang members.

The deputies followed the pair, who split up and walked away before one of the young men turned around and opened fire, investigators said. Officers said said the wounded deputy was wearing a bulletproof vest, but the shot that wounded him struck him above the vest. A second shot was believed to have been deflected by the vest.

The wounded deputy’s partner returned returned fire, possibly hitting one of the suspects, who apparently limped away, officers said. The partner, who also was wearing a bulletproof vest, was not hurt in the confrontation, officers said.

More than 100 deputies converged on the park after the shooting, cordoning off the area near the confluence of the Long Beach and Century freeways in a painstaking search for the suspects.

The officers were assisted by K-9 units and helicopters equipped with searchlights.

A report of a break-in in a nearby building prompted deputies to expand their search to that area.

Nonetheless, several hours after the search had begun, the suspects were still at large.

The injured deputy was flown to Long Beach Memorial hospital by helicopter. Family members were summoned to his bedside as doctors worked frantically to save him.

Three hours after the shooting, the deputy was in grave condition, hospital officials said.