A call about a suspicious van led to an ambush Saturday that resulted in the death of a Northern California sheriff’s deputy and injuries to two other law enforcement officers, according to reports.
Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, 38, was fatally shot during the confrontation in Ben Lomond, an unincorporated area, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart said.
A second deputy was injured, and a third officer from the California Highway Patrol was shot in a hand, the sheriff said.
Gutzwiller was a married father of one child with a second child on the way, Hart told FOX 2 of the San Francisco Bay Area.
“Words cannot express the pain we feel for Damon and his family," Hart told the station. "Today, we lost a hero."
The suspect, identified as Steven Carrillo, 38, was shot during his capture and was being treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, the sheriff added.
The deputies responded to a 911 call around 1:30 p.m. after a caller said a suspicious van had guns and bomb-making devices inside, Hart said.
When deputies arrived, they saw the van drive off so the deputies followed. As the van went down a driveway at Carrillo's home the deputies were ambushed by gunfire and explosives after getting out of their vehicle.
Gutzwiller was hit by gunfire and later died at a hospital. Another deputy was wounded by gunfire or shrapnel and struck by a vehicle as the suspect fled.
Carrillo tried to carjack a vehicle and was wounded while being arrested.
Hart said Carrillo was taken to a hospital for treatment and would be charged with first-degree murder.
Ben Lomond is a town of about 6,000 residents in the Santa Cruz mountains.
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