Kevin Cataneo Salazar, 29, has been identified as the suspect in the shooting of Los Angeles County Sherrif’s deputy Ryan Clinkumbroomer. Salazar was arrested on Monday, Sept 18, 2023. The County sheriff was shot while in his patrol vehicle in Palmdale.
Kevin Cataneo Salazar Suspect in LA County Sheriff Deputy Shooting
Salazar is accused of shooting Deputy Ryan, a 30-year-old field trainer, as he sat inside his vehicle outside the Palmdale Sherrif’s station on Saturday, September 16.
During a press conference, LA Sheriff Robert Luna said that the community members provided information that led to the detectives identifying the suspect.
“Thirty-six hours after the murder of our deputy, the men and women of our department arrested him early this morning,” the Sheriff said in the Press release..
A search warrant was served on a home on Barrington Street. The police surrounded the property and called all the occupants out, but Salazar barricaded himself inside.
“They deployed chemical agents, and the suspect ultimately surrendered,” Luna said. “Investigators recovered numerous firearms and the vehicle of interest depicted in the flyer we put out yesterday.”
What was the Motive?
As of Monday, the motive for the shooting remains unclear. Detectives have not determined if the ambush was personal, related to his job, or a random incident just because Clinkunbroomer was in a marked patrol car. Salzar’s father in an interview with the Spanish Times, said that his son was not in his full mental capacity.
Salazar is accused of shooting Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, a 30-year-old field training officer, as he sat inside his vehicle just outside the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station on Saturday.
The shooting was captured on surveillance video shared with The Times. The video shows Deputy Ryan Clinkumbroomer steering his patrol cruiser onto Sierra Highway and stopping at a red light outside the Palmdale sheriff’s station north of Los Angeles. The Deputy Sherrif was in uniform and on duty.
Seconds later, a dark gray Toyota Corolla can be seen pulling up behind the marked black-and-white cruiser and pausing.
The sedan pulls alongside the driver’s side of the cruiser, pauses again, then speeds off. Clinkunbroomer’s vehicle drifts a foot or two.
In those seconds, authorities said, the deputy was shot in the head.
Luna said a good Samaritan found the deputy unconscious inside the car. Clinkunbroomer was quickly rushed to the Antelope Valley Medical Center in Lancaster, where he later died.