Bakersfield (US):A California sheriff's deputy was fatally shot this weekend when his SWAT team tried to rescue people held hostage inside a San Joaquin Valley home by a man armed with an AK-47-style rifle and a handgun, authorities said Monday. Four other people were also killed in the shootout.
Three people inside the home believed to be the gunman's sons and their mother were fatally shot during the standoff Sunday afternoon in Wasco, a small community in the middle of farm fields northwest of Bakersfield. Deputies shot and killed the suspect after he climbed onto the home's roof with the firearms.
Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood identified the slain deputy as Phillip Campas and called him a star in our organization." Campas, 35, was a five-year veteran of the sheriff's office and had previously served as a sergeant in the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan. He was an instructor at the academy, as well as a member of the sheriff's SWAT team and the honor guard.
Campas is survived by his wife and two young children. We thought he'd been here over 10 years, he's had that kind of impact, Youngblood said. He was here for five.
Deputy Dizander Guerrero was wounded by gunfire and two deputies were struck by shrapnel during the violence. The violence began around 1 p.m., and included a 911 call that had an open line into the home, Youngblood said. The activity heard on the call led deputies to believe at least one person was still alive inside the home.
We felt obligated to go in and try and rescue that victim, the sheriff said. Two women and two girls were able to escape the home safely, Youngblood said. Their relationship to the shooter and the other victims was not immediately clear.
The 41-year-old suspect has not yet been named publicly but Youngblood said there was a restraining order filed against him that prohibited him from having firearms as of June 3. The sheriff did not know what prompted the restraining order.
The shooting has the implications of what we see in law enforcement when it comes to domestic violence and how serious it is, Youngblood said, and, quite frankly, how a restraining order is not bulletproof.