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Huge Search for Ex-Officer in 3 California Killings Huge Search for Ex-Officer in 3 California Killings
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LOS ANGELES – An ex-Navy reservist who was fired from the Los Angeles Police Department in 2008 went on a murderous rampage aimed at police officers and their families, killing at least three people – including an 11-year veteran of the Riverside Police Department – and setting off a huge manhunt across Southern California on Thursday. LOS ANGELES — A former Navy reservist who was fired from the Los Angeles Police Department in 2008 has gone on a murderous rampage aimed at police officers and their families, law enforcement officials said Thursday, killing at least three people — including an 11-year veteran of the Riverside Police Department — and setting off a huge manhunt across Southern California.
As evening approached, the gray Nissan identified by the police as the suspect's was found, destroyed by flames, at the side of a dirt road in a snowy, wooded area near Big Bear, a ski resort about 100 miles from downtown Los Angeles. The ski resort and local schools were closed as soon as the vehicle was discovered. Police officers and forest rangers said late Thursday afternoon that they had come across fresh tracks in the snow not far from the burned vehicle. The police were on high alert in a dragnet that appeared to rattle even a part of the country familiar with sweeping police hunts. Protection teams were dispatched overnight to guard uniformed officers and their families, scores of officers set up lines of defense outside the fortress that is the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters, and motorcycle officers were ordered to retreat to the safety of patrol cars.
The police across Southern California were on high alert in a dragnet that appeared to stun even a part of the country familiar with dramatic police hunts. Teams of police officers were dispatched overnight to guard uniformed officers and their families, tactical officers set up lines of defense outside the fortress that is the Los Angeles Police Department, and motorcycle officers were ordered to retreat to the safety of patrol cars. In Torrance, two women delivering newspapers were shot and wounded by police officers who mistook the Honda pickup they were driving for the one identified as belonging to the gunman, a gray Nissan. About 12 hours later in San Diego, squads of police cars, in a blaze of red lights and screeching tires, converged on a motel where the suspect was mistakenly thought to be hiding after his wallet was found on a sidewalk.
In Torrance, two women delivering newspapers were shot and wounded by police officers who mistook the vehicle they were driving for the one identified as belonging to the gunman. About 12 hours later in San Diego, squads of police cars, in a blaze of red lights and screeching tires, converged on a motel where the suspect was mistakenly thought to be hiding. As night fell, the gray Nissan was found, destroyed by flames, at the side of a dirt road in a snowy, wooded area near Big Bear, a ski resort about 100 miles from downtown Los Angeles. The resort and local schools were closed as soon as the vehicle was discovered. Police officers and forest rangers said Thursday afternoon that they had come across fresh tracks in the snow not far from the burned vehicle.
The suspect was identified as Christopher Jordan Dorner, 33, who worked for the police department from 2004 to 2008. Mr. Dorner had posted a rambling and threatening note on his Facebook page saying he was suffering from severe depression and pledging to kill police officers to avenge his dismissal for filing a false police report accusing a colleague of police abuse. Mr. Dorner said he had struggled to clear his name in court before resorting to violence. The suspect was identified as Christopher J. Dorner, 33, who worked for the Police Department from 2005 to 2008. Mr. Dorner posted a rambling and threatening note on his Facebook page, which police referred to as “his manifesto,” complaining of severe depression and pledging to kill officers to avenge his dismissal for filing a false police report accusing a colleague of police abuse.
Mr. Dorner laid out his threats in a 6,000 word manifesto posted on Facebook which was bristling with anger and explicit threats, naming two dozen police officers he intended to kill and laying out grievances against a police department that he said remained riddled with racism and corruption, a reference to a chapter of the department’s history that, in the view of many people, was long ago swept aside. In the note, Mr. Dorner said he had struggled to clear his name in court before resorting to violence.
The 6,000-word manifesto was bristling with anger and explicit threats, naming two dozen police officers he intended to kill. Mr. Dorner laid out grievances against a police department that he said remained riddled with racism and corruption, a reference to a chapter of the department’s history that, in the view of many people, was swept aside long ago.
The authorities responded by assigning special security details to protect the people named in the manifesto, and asked the news media not to publish their names.The authorities responded by assigning special security details to protect the people named in the manifesto, and asked the news media not to publish their names.
“I have exhausted all available means at obtaining my name back,” he wrote. “I have attempted all legal court efforts within appeals at the Superior Courts and California Appellate courts. This is my last resort. The LAPD has suppressed the truth and it has now lead to deadly consequences.”“I have exhausted all available means at obtaining my name back,” he wrote. “I have attempted all legal court efforts within appeals at the Superior Courts and California Appellate courts. This is my last resort. The LAPD has suppressed the truth and it has now lead to deadly consequences.”
“I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty,” he wrote.“I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty,” he wrote.
The police said that Mr. Dorner was traveling with multiple weapons, including an assault weapon. On his Facebook page, Mr. Dorner posted a certificate from the Department of the Navy attesting that he had completed a course of training to become an antiterrorism officer at the Center for Security Forces.The police said that Mr. Dorner was traveling with multiple weapons, including an assault weapon. On his Facebook page, Mr. Dorner posted a certificate from the Department of the Navy attesting that he had completed a course of training to become an antiterrorism officer at the Center for Security Forces.
“Dorner is considered to be armed and extremely dangerous,” said Chief Charlie Beck of the Los Angeles Police Department. “Dorner is considered to be armed and extremely dangerous,” said Chief Charlie Beck of the Los Angeles Police Department. “He knows what he’s doing; we trained him. He was also a member of the armed forces. It is extremely worrisome and scary, especially to the police officers involved.”
Electronic signs on the freeways urged drivers to look out for the suspect’s vehicle, a late-model dark gray Nissan pickup truck, but not to try to approach the vehicle themselves. Mr. Dorner bragged about his lethal skills. “You are aware that I have always been the top shot, highest score, an expert in rifle qualification in every unit I have been on,” he wrote.
“He knows what he’s doing; we trained him,” Chief Beck said. “He was also a member of the armed forces. It is extremely worrisome and scary, especially to the police officers involved.” The rampage began with a double homicide in Orange County on Sunday. One of the victims, Monica Quan, 28, was the daughter of a former Los Angeles police captain who had defended Mr. Dorner in his disciplinary proceedings.
In his Facebook manifesto, Mr. Dorner bragged about his abilities. “Hopefully you analyst have done your homework,” he wrote. “You are aware that I have always been the top shot, highest score, an expert in rifle qualification in every unit I have been on.” On Wednesday, Chief Beck said, Mr. Dorner tried to hijack a boat in San Diego. Early Thursday morning, police officers assigned to protect an officer named by Mr. Dorner were alerted by a civilian who spotted a man resembling the suspect. As they followed him, Mr. Dorner opened fire as they approached him — grazing one in the head — before he fled, Chief Beck said.
The rampage began with a double homicide in Orange County on Sunday, in which two people were found dead in their car. One of the victims, Monica Quan, 28, an assistant woman’s basketball coach at California State University at Fullerton, was the daughter of a former Los Angeles police captain Mr. Dorner had named in his manifesto. Less than an hour later, the suspect approached two Riverside police officers parked at a traffic light in a patrol car and opened fire, killing one and seriously wounding the second.
The police believe that then, very early Thursday morning, Mr. Dorner shot and wounded one of the police officers guarding one of his intended victims. And later Thursday morning, the police said, Mr. Dorner ambushed two police officers waiting at a traffic light in Riverside, killing one and severely wounding the other.
“The Riverside officers were cowardly ambushed,” Chief Beck said. “They had no opportunity to fight back, no pre-warning.”“The Riverside officers were cowardly ambushed,” Chief Beck said. “They had no opportunity to fight back, no pre-warning.”
In the midst of the chaos, the two newspaper delivery women were shot by the police in what Chief Beck described as a case of mistaken identity after officers thought they had spotted Mr. Dorner’s car in Torrance. They opened fire; one passenger in the vehicle suffered a minor gunshot wound and the second is in stable condition in a hospital with two wounds. The authorities were concerned that the gunman would expand his choice of targets. “This is a vendetta against all Southern California law enforcement, and it should be seen as such,” Chief Beck said
“Tragically, we believe this was a case of mistaken identity,” Chief Beck said. More than a dozen law enforcement agencies across Southern California — from Riverside, east of Los Angeles, down to San Diego — were engaged in the search. Police vehicles crowded the freeways, where electronic signs urged drivers to look out for the suspect’s vehicle.
The authorities were concerned that the gunman would expand his choice of targets. F.B.I. agents staked out a home in Orange County were neighbors said Mr. Dornan’s mother lived. Neighbors said that they had seen Mr. Dornan on and off after he returned from a two-year deployment in the Middle East in 2006. They all said he was a cordial and approachable neighbor.
“If you read his manifesto, L.A.P.D. is a very specific target but all law enforcement is targeted,” Chief Beck said. “This is a vendetta against all Southern California law enforcement, and it should be seen as such.” “I don’t expect to see him anymore, because I know that this is a hot area for him,” said Ike Gonzalez, who has lived there since 1973.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Mr. Dornan was dismissed after being charged with making false statements about his training officer, who he alleged had kicked a suspect. A review board ultimately found Mr. Dornan guilty. Mr. Dornan sued the department, but both the trial court and an appellate court upheld his termination.
In his online manifesto, Mr. Dornan railed against the officers involved in his hearing. “You destroyed my life and name because of your actions,” he wrote. “Time is up.”
“I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own, I’m terminating yours,” he wrote. “Look your wives/husbands and surviving children directly in the face and tell them the truth as to why your children are dead.”

Nuran Alteir contributed reporting from La Palma, Calif.; Will Carless from San Diego; and Kitty Bennett from Tampa, Fla.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: February 7, 2013Correction: February 7, 2013

An earlier version of this article described imprecisely the service status of one of the shooting victims, an officer with the Riverside Police Department. He had been with the department for 11 years, not 14.

An earlier version of this article described imprecisely the service status of one of the shooting victims, an officer with the Riverside Police Department. He had been with the department for 11 years, not 14.