Sheriff's Deputies Shoot, Wound Driver After Being Rammed

Sheriff’s deputies in Paramount were rammed by car, and shot and wounded the driver as they arrested two passengers. The deputy struck by a suspect’s car was treated and released at a hospital, said Deputy Lisa Jansen of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

The assault started just before 9:30 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of Somerset Boulevard and Gundry Avenue, according to Deputy Mike Barraza.

Deputies saw a car speeding south on Orange from Somerset Boulevard and followed it as it turned onto Myrrh Street and then onto Gundry Avenue, where it came to a stop halfway into a driveway, Jansen said.

When deputies walked up the suspect’s car, they saw the front seat passenger, a 34-year-old man, holding and pointing a gun at them, Jansen said.

At the same time, the motorist started to back up, striking one of the deputies with the passenger’s side of the car. At that point, a deputy-involved shooting occurred. The driver, a 32-year-old man, then sped north on Gundry Avenue and crashed into another vehicle. The front seat passenger got out the car and ran across Somerset Boulevard, while the driver and a rear seat passenger, a 24- year-old man, surrendered to deputies, she said.

A few minutes later the third suspect, who originally ran from the car, also surrendered to deputies, she said.

The driver of the car suffered a gunshot wound to his lower leg. He was transported to an area hospital, where he is expected to survive his gunshot wound, Jansen said.

The suspects were booked at the sheriff’s Lakewood station on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer.

--City News Service, photo via Shutterstock