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1 dead, 1 injured in shooting at fire station in California

By Amir Vera, Cheri Mossburg and Stella Chan, CNN

An off-duty firefighter shot two people, killing one, at a Los Angeles County fire station Tuesday morning, officials said during a news conference Tuesday.

The off-duty employee, a firefighter specialist and engineer, was found dead in a burning home about 10 miles from the scene of the shooting, officials said. Officials did not identify the victims or the suspect.

The shooting took place around 10:50 a.m. PT when authorities received reports about a shooting at Fire Station 81 Agua Dulce, California, about 30 miles north of Downtown Los Angeles, according to Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby.

Upon arrival, first responders found a 44-year-old man with gunshot wounds to his torso who was pronounced dead at the scene, said Brandon Dean with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department homicide bureau.

The man was a firefighter specialist and engineer who’s been with the department for more than 20 years, Osby said.

An LAFD captain, a 54-year-old man, was also found with gunshot wounds and taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical, but stable condition, Osby said.

“As a fire chief, I’ve dealt with a lot of death and lot of fallen members of our department and I always prayed we would never have a line-of-duty death,” Osby said through tears. “I never thought that if it occurred it would occur in this fashion.”

Based on witness testimony, Dean said investigators received a name and vehicle description of the suspect, which led them to a residence about 10 miles away in Acton. The home was on fire when authorities arrived on scene, Dean said.

Members of a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s SWAT team were seen being dropped into the scene of the fire via helicopter, according to aerials provided by CNN affiliate KABC-TV.

In the process of fighting the fire, deputies saw a man in a pool with a fatal gunshot wound to the head.

“We feel fairly confident that is our shooter, but we can’t say with 100% certainty,” Dean said, adding that it’s unknown if the suspect’s wound was self-inflicted. No deputies fired at the suspect and no one else at the house prior to first responders.

“This is very early on, the actual motive we’re unsure of,” Dean said.

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Christian Galeno

Christian Galeno joined the News 11/CBS 13 team in July of 2019 as a Weekend Anchor and multimedia journalist. He now anchors 13 on Your Side at 6, and 10.

Reach to Christian at christian.galeno@kecytv.com.

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