SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a Northern California sheriff's deputy was killed and two other law enforcement officers were wounded when they were ambushed by a suspect.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart said in a Facebook post that Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller was shot and killed Saturday afternoon in Ben Lomond, an unincorporated area near Santa Cruz.
A second deputy was injured, and a third officer from the California Highway Patrol was shot in his hand.
Hart said the suspect, Steven Carrillo, 38, was shot during the arrest and is being treated at the hospital.
Hart said police were ambushed with explosives and gunfire when they approached Carillo's home.
“Words cannot express the pain we feel for Damon and his family,” Sheriff Jim Hart said in the Facebook post. “He was the kind of person we all hope to be. Today, we lost a hero. We are grateful to have known him and we mourn with his family.”
Gutzwiller had worked with the sheriff's office since 2006.
A fund has been set up to help Gutzwiller's wife and children.
