Lancaster Shooting: LA Sheriff Deputy Killed; Suspect Arrested Following Manhunt

LANCASTER, CA — A suspect is in custody Wednesday after a Los Angeles County Sheriff's sergeant was shot and killed in Lancaster. It remains unclear if the suspect is the shooter, and photos from the scene showed deputies loading the suspect into a waiting ambulance.

Sgt. Steve Owen, 53, was killed responding to a reported burglary. Owen was taken to a local hospital in grave condition, but doctors weren't able to save him. He is the 95th law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty in 2016, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.

Owen was a married father of two grown children and a 29-year department veteran. Promoted to sergeant five years ago, he received a Meritorious Conduct Medal in 2014 for his role in a pursuit and standoff situation involving a series of armed gang members.

Initially the sheriff's department had indicated that a deputy was also shot, but Sheriff Jim McDonnell since corrected the reports to indicate only one officer was shot. In fact, a second deputy was injured Wednesday when Owen's killer tried to commandeer the fallen sergeant's patrol car. He allegedly rammed a second patrol car and fled on foot when a deputy fired at him. The injured deputy was taken to the hospital for treatment.

Police believe they captured Owen's killer after a brief manhunt. The suspect ran into a neighboring home occupied by two teenagers. They alerted police to his presence, and he was taken into custody.

Owen's wife, a detective, was rushed to the hospital to be with him when he died, according to the sheriff's department.

"We were fortunate in being able to find his wife. who is an Arson- Explosives (Detail) detective in our department, and get her to the hospital ... before Steve succumbed," sheriff's Executive Officer Neal Tyler told reporters.

He said Owen's son and daughter, as well his mother, were also at his bedside.

County Supervisor Mike Antonovich called Owen "an outstanding law enforcement professional who I had the opportunity to know and work with."

"He was a husband and father who was respected by his colleagues and engaged in his community. He was senselessly murdered while responding to a call for help," Antonovich said. "His loss leaves a significant void for all who knew him."

Lancaster's mayor, who went to the hospital to keep vigil with the lawman's family, issued a statement late this afternoon saying he was "completely outraged by the cowardly act which took place today."

"Antelope Valley hero, Sergeant Steve Owen, represents the epitome of excellence in law enforcement," Parris wrote. "Sergeant Owen has served our community for more than 20 years, earning such honors as the Meritorious Conduct Medal, which speaks to his dedication to fulfilling his duties in making the Antelope Valley a safer place."

Katz called it "a very dark day" for the sheriff's department.

"We're all suffering right now," he said while noting that Owen was involved in the sheriff's mounted enforcement unit, worked as a deputy sheriff and was a field supervisor.

"It doesn't get worse than this, folks," he said.

Lancaster High School was on lockdown, and nearby Antelope Valley College issued a shelter-in-place alert while the active search for the suspect was under way. An alert on the college's website said, "Attention: Armed Suspect in vicinity of AVC Lancaster Campus. Shelter in Place and await further instruction. Avoid the area due to heavy law enforcement presence."

A perimeter was set up surrounding the area of the shooting at the 3200 block of West Avenue J-7.

Antelope Valley College is a community college with an enrollment of more than 18,000 students, according to fall 2014 data, the latest available on the school's website.

Lancaster is a city of more than 150,000 people north of Los Angeles.

People at the school had taken to social media to report hearing shots being fired.

The shootings come at a time of increased tension between Los Angeles County residents and law enforcement officers, with at least four officer-involved shootings in the area since Saturday.

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates as they become available. City news Service contributed to this report.

Images via LA County Sheriff's Office, Twitter