2 L.A. Officers Wounded in Ventura County Gunfight

THOUSAND OAKS — Two Los Angeles police officers were wounded, one critically, in a gun battle that left a suspect dead and another wounded after a liquor store robbery late Monday, authorities said.

The shootout occurred about 9:45 p.m. on Lawrence Drive near Hillcrest Drive in an industrial area at the west end of Thousand Oaks, authorities said.

Details of the incident were sketchy, but Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputy Chuck Buttell said the police officers had followed the suspects from Los Angeles as part of an undercover surveillance operation.

The officers later witnessed the suspects rob the Southwest Liquor & Deli at 108 W. Hillcrest Drive, Buttell said. A short time later, the officers pulled over the suspects’ vehicle on Lawrence Drive. “As soon as the traffic stop was made, the shooting started,” Buttell said.

The police officers, who were in plainclothes and traveling in an unmarked car, had not informed the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department that they were conducting surveillance in the area, Buttell said.

The two police officers were each shot in the lower abdomen. One was in critical condition and the other was in serious condition at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, Buttell said.

One male suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. Another suspect was taken to St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo. His condition could not be immediately determined.