A sheriff's deputy in Central California was shot in the head, but survived, after a man opened fire on a Paso Robles police station on Wednesday in what was described by authorities as an ambush.
The alleged gunman was identified as 26-year-old Mason James Lira in a news release Wednesday night by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office. He is from the Monterey area and is considered armed and dangerous.
After wounding the deputy, police believe that Lira killed a 58-year-old man near an Amtrak station in the city, prompting a manhunt. Police sought the public's help and released photos from surveillance video showing the suspect—a young dark-haired, bearded man.
The body of the 58-year-old man was found hours after the shooting, while authorities were hunting the suspect. The man had been shot in the head "at close proximity" and investigators believe the incidents are related.
Officials called the shooting an ambush, saying that Lira intended to harm or kill law enforcement when he opened fire around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday on the backside of the police station, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said.
"We feel that this was an ambush that he planned," Parkinson said. "He intended for officers to come out of the police department and to assault them."
A post carrier noticed a man wandering around the police station that day around 3:00 a.m., the sheriff said. The man—believed to be Lira—then opened fire at police cars, windows, and a door, but no one was injured.
Paso Robles is an unlikely spot for such violence. The bustling community 175 miles northwest of Los Angeles is a tourist destination and centerpiece of the wine industry on California's Central Coast.
The anti-police sentiment has also drawn rebuke from police unions, including the NYPD union. Pat Lynch, president of the largest police union, the Police Benevolent Association in New York City, said that his officers have been abused and attacked, while adding that New York's recent bail reform laws have made it difficult to prosecute criminals.
Lynch noted that in the past week, 40 people were shot across the city, noting that there were seven people shot in the span of about 10 minutes in Brooklyn on Monday.
“Everybody’s trying to shame us into being embarrassed about our profession,” added Mike O’Meara, the head of the New York State Association of PBAs. “Stop treating us like animals and thugs and start treating us with some respect.”