AGUA DULCE, Calif. — An off-duty firefighter opened fire Tuesday at a Los Angeles fire station, killing one colleague and wounding another before barricading himself in his home and setting it ablaze, authorities confirmed.
Update 9:57 p.m. ET June 1: The gunman, who has not been publicly identified, had the day off but walked into the Agua Dulce fire station and began shooting at around 10:55 a.m., Los Angeles County fire chief Daryl Osby told KTLA.
Meanwhile, a 54-year-old fire captain was also shot multiple times and airlifted to an area hospital, where he was later listed in critical but stable condition and is expected to survive, KCOP-TV reported.
The man killed in the shooting has been identified only as a 44-year-old firefighter specialist who had worked for the department for more than 20 years and who died after being struck by bullets multiple times in the upper torso, the TV station reported.
Sheriff’s officials confirmed to the TV station that witnesses of the shooting identified the suspect, who fled in a white Toyota pickup and was tracked to his home about 10 miles east of the fire station in Acton.
Sheriff’s Lt. Brandon Dean confirmed to KTLA that deputies never made contact with the suspect and found his body floating in a pool on the property with a gunshot wound to his head. Dean also said the gunshot wound appeared to be self-inflicted, but coroner’s officials must positively identify the body and determine a cause of death.
“I just never thought it would be me, nor our department family that [would] suffer this type of loss,” he said.
Original report: The shooting happened just before 11 a.m. local time at fire station 81 in Agua Dulce, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Unidentified sources told KCOP-TV that a man was airlifted to a hospital with multiple gunshot wounds after the incident. However, officials did not immediately confirm whether anyone was injured or killed in the shooting.
Check back for updates to this developing story.