Suspect In CHP Officer's Shooting Is Combat Vet With PTSD, Family Says

VAN NUYS, CA — The man suspected of repeatedly shooting a Calfornia Highway Patrol officer during a traffic stop in Studio City Tuesday is a combat veteran suffering sever post traumatic stress disorder from fighting in the Afghanistan War, his family said Wednesday.

While Pejhmaun Khosroadbadi, 33, awaits arraignment on charges including the attempted murder of a police officer, the wounded 27-year-old rookie officer remains hospitalized in serious but stable condition. He is expected to recover, according to the California Highway Patrol.

" When he came back, he was so traumatized," said Shamaya Shayesteh, a cousin of Khosroadbadi.

His brother, Robert Thompson-Khosroadbadi, said Khosroadbadi recently lost two members of his unit to suicide and the family has been trying to get him psychological counseling for months.

Five members of his unit were killed in action, which deeply affected him, they said.

Thompson-Khosroadbadi told news outlets that his family offers the wounded CHP officer "our deepest sympathies and prayers and Godspeed for a speedy recovery."

Khosroadbadi is booked in the Van Nuys Jail and his bail is $3 million.

As detectives continue to investigate the shooting, authorities Wednesday are praising the 4-year-old bloodhound with the Los Angeles Police Department's K-9 unit that brought to an end the intense manhunt for Khosroadbadi.

Khosroadbadi was arrested shortly before 9 a.m. Tuesday after a bloodhound names Piper tracked him to a tent in a homeless encampment at Gloria Avenue and Cantlay Street where he had been hiding, according to reports from the scene.

A Los Angeles SWAT Team had surrounded an apartment complex in Van Nuys where Khosroadbadi returned after the shooting. Officers found his white Ford Fusion with Oregon plates wanted in connection with the shooting. Khosroadbadi managed to evade officers after an hours-long standoff Monday night. Authorities caught his trail again with the help of Piper.

The bloodhound tracked Khosroadbadi's scent from the Haskell Avenue apartment building the homeless encampment. According to news reports, officers obtained a search warrant for the tent and recovered a gun and a cell phone.

Police credited Piper for the arrest.

"Bloodhounds are very loving dogs. So the handler gives the dog a lot of love. Each time we get a find, we get the dog a cheeseburger," said LAPD Sgt. Desi Ehrlich.

The arrest culminated an intense manhunt that started shortly before 8 p.m. Monday in the 4500 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Studio City, one block south of the Ventura (101) Freeway, according to the LAPD.

The unnamed California Highway Patrol officer had conducted a traffic stop on Khosroadbadi's white Ford Fusion and an altercation ensued, according to authorities.

"During the altercation, the suspect produced a firearm and fired several rounds, striking our officer multiple times," Haver told reporters. "The suspect fled the scene."

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contri buted to this report.