California police authorities launched a statewide manhunt on Thursday for ex-Los Angeles policeman Christopher Dorner who has threatened "warfare" on cops, and their families, suspected in a slew of shootings that have already killed three people.
He is suspected of an ambush shooting of two officers, killing one and critically wounding two others in Riverside, according to Reuters. The two Los Angeles police officers were on their way to provide protection for a person identified as a potential target.
Dorner is also suspected in the shooting deaths of Monica Quan, whose father Randal, is a former LAPD captain and was an assistant basketball coach at California State University Fullerton, along with her fiancé Keith Lawrence, a University of South California patrol officer.
Quan and her fiancé were killed in her car last week. Randal, Monica's father, LAPD captain turned lawyer in retirement, represented Dorner in front of the Board of Rights, in a tribunal that ruled against Dorner at the time of his dismissal, LAPD Capt. William Hayes told The Associated Press on Wednesday night.
Dorner, 33, a U.S. Navy reservist, was been publicly named as a suspect in the killings of Quan, and Lawrence, Irvine police Chief David L. Maggard also said on Wednesday's press conference.
Leading up to this apparent rampage, Dorner wrote a manifesto, and was quoted by various news media on Thursday. It initially was posted on his Facebook wall:
"The violence of action will be high. ... I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty," he wrote.
"Self Preservation is no longer important to me. I do not fear death as I died long ago on 1/2/09. I was told by my mother that sometimes bad things happen to good people. I refuse to accept that."
"This will be a war of attrition and a Pyrrhic and Camdean Victory for myself. You may have the resources and manpower but you are reactive and predictable in your op plans and TTP's. I have the strength and benefits of being unpredictable, unconventional, and unforgiving. Do not waste your time with briefs and tabletops.
Whatever pre-planned responses you have established for a scenario like me, shelve it. Whatever contingency plan you have, shelve it. Whatever tertiary plan you've created, shelve it. I am a walking exigent circumstance with no OFF or reset button. JRIC, DOJ, LASD, FBI and other local LE can't assist and should not involve themselves in a matter that does not concern them. For all other agencies, do not involve yourself in this capture or recovery of me."
Police say the expert marksman shot at four officers in two incidents overnight, hitting three of them; one in Corona and the two in Riverside.
Sgt. Rudy Lopez of the LAPD said two LAPD officers were in Corona and headed out on special detail to check on one of the individuals named in Dorner's manifesto. Dorner allegedly grazed one of them but missed the other.Dorner was with the department from 2005 until 2008, when he was fired for making false statements.
"[This is an] extremely tense situation," Lopez said. "We call this a manhunt. We approach it cautiously because of the propensity of what has already happened."
The Riverside Police Department said two of its officers were shot before one of them died, KABC-TV reported. The other is in stable condition with two gunshot wounds, police say.
According to the AP, Dorner was said to be driving a blue pickup truck on Thursday, but San Diego police were investigating an attempted boat theft on Wednesday night by a man matching his description, Reuters reports
The AP also reports that the California Highway Patrol issued a "blue alert" on Dorner to law enforcement throughout the state after the Riverside shootings. Riverside is about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
