Authorities have charged a man suspected of opening fire on Saturday and killing a Baldwin Park police officer and another man has been charged with murder, officials said Tuesday.
Eduardo Medina-Berumen, 22, was charged with two counts of murder with special circumstances and two counts of attempted murder and possession of an assault pistol, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said at a news conference announcing the charges.
He faces charges that carry special circumstance allegations that could lead to a death sentence. That said, California has had a moratorium on executions for six years and last executed a prisoner in 2006.
Medina-Berumen was wounded in the firefight and remains in custody in a hospital, officials said. He is being held in lieu of $4 million bail.
What authorities have said about the shooting
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said the officers were called to the 4200 block of Filhurst Avenue at around 7:12 p.m. after receiving reports of an individual firing a rifle.
Baldwin Park Police Officer Samuel Riveros and another man, Darius Wong, were both killed in the gunfire.
Luna said an AR-style rifle with two high capacity magazines were recovered from the scene.
Baldwin Park Police Chief Robert Lopez was visibly shaken at Saturday night’s news conference.
“ He was an avid snowboarder, [a] Dodger fan,” Lopez said. “He would travel with and go see the Dodgers play at different stadiums across the United States. It it’s extremely tragic to have to deal with this.”
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