Gunfire shattered a quiet Sunday morning in Lompoc on Nov. 19. In just under an hour, two men were dead, one from an officer-involved shooting.
According to Sgt. Kevin Martin with the Lompoc Police Department (LPD), a city patrol unit responded to reports of a homicide victim in the Santa Ynez riverbed at just after 6 a.m. There, officers found the body of one man and, after interviewing witnesses, identified a suspect—a 34-year-old male from Lompoc.
A Lompoc Fire Department employee saw a subject matching the suspect's description near A Street and Pine Avenue and alerted the LPD, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.
Multiple LPD units responded to the area and exchanged fire with the suspect.
According to the LPD, officers were fired at as they arrived on scene. Follow-up information released by the Sheriff's Office stated that officers "contacted the suspect who refused to comply with their orders."
"The suspect then turned toward officers, raised his hand, and discharged a firearm directly at them," the release said. "The [LPD] officers returned fire, striking the suspect multiple times."
The man was transported by ambulance to Lompoc Valley Medical Center, where he died from his injuries.
LPD and Sheriff's Office officials said the names of the two deceased men would be released once next of kin had been notified.
The Sheriff's Office is investigating the officer-involved shooting, while the LPD is investigating the original riverbed homicide.
Those with any additional information or anyone who witnessed the incident are encouraged to contact the Sheriff's Criminal Investigations Bureau at (805) 934-6170. To leave an anonymous tip, call (805) 681-4171 or go the sheriff's website at sbsheriff.org.
