2 Arrested in Shootout With Off-Duty Officer in South Gate

An off-duty police officer was in good condition after a shootout early Saturday in South Gate with two men who allegedly attempted to rob him at a telephone booth, authorities said.

Fabian Mejia of the Calexico Police Department in the Imperial Valley suffered gunshot wounds to his midsection, said South Gate Police Lt. Darren Sullivan.

Mejia was being treated at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center. “He will recover from his wounds,” Sullivan said.

Anayanci Chavez, 18, and Max Facundo, 19, both of Cudahy, were arrested on suspicion of armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, police said.

Facundo, who also suffered wounds to his midsection in the exchange of gunfire, was in serious but stable condition at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood. He will be transferred to the South Gate jail.

The incident occurred a few minutes after midnight.

Mejia, who was visiting his parents in South Gate, was using a public telephone at Atlantic and Tenaya avenues, Sullivan said.

Two men approached and allegedly tried to rob him, prompting the shootout with handguns, police said.

Afterward, Mejia used the same phone to call 911, Sullivan said. The suspects fled but were arrested when they went to the hospital seeking treatment for Facundo’s wounds.

Bail was set at $500,000 each, authorities said.