If you murder a police officer, you should receive the death penalty! pic.twitter.com/07n5Rwrb4b
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2020
President Donald Trump on Sunday repeatedly called for the death penalty against the shooter of two Los Angeles deputies, if the victims die.
From the morning:
If they die, fast trial death penalty for the killer. Only way to stop this! https://t.co/K3sKh28GjX
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 13, 2020
He later said during a rally in Las Vegas, Nevada that people who murder police should get the death penalty. He then referenced the Los Angeles incident.
“You saw video of that animal that went up to the car,” he said, in an explicit bid to position himself as appropriately tougher on such crimes than Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. “Did everybody see that? This animal goes up to the car. Two unsuspecting fine people–fine people. I mean they are in very grave condition as you know. Fine people. He’s an animal.” The president said the shooter was not a human being, but an animal.
As seen on video, a gunman approached a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department vehicle, opened fire, and fled.
Update: The gunman walked up on the deputies and opened fire without warning or provocation. pic.twitter.com/cBQjyKkoxJ
— LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) September 13, 2020
Warning: Video is disturbing.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told reporters at a press conference that it happened Saturday around 7 p.m. by the Compton terminal of the MTA Blue Line. The sheriff described the female deputy as the 31-year-old mother of a six-year-old boy, and the male deputy as a 24-year-old man. He swore them into office 14 months ago, he said. They were described as being out of surgery. At least one of the victims was shot in the face, and the other was struck in the head, said law enforcement sources cited by The Los Angeles Times.
The search for the suspect is ongoing. The sheriff’s department early Monday morning dismissed a social media post purportedly identifying the man. They had no suspects.
Currently, there is a social media post that is being circulated which identifies a male out of the Los Angeles area as the suspect responsible for the ambush of our 2 deputies yesterday. This is ERRONEOUS information and there are no named or wanted suspects at this time.
— LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) September 14, 2020
[Screengrab via Donald Trump]
