Police in Los Angeles County are searching for a sniper who shot a sheriff’s deputy on Wednesday night from a four story apartment complex.
The sheriff’s deputy, 21-year-old rookie Angel Reinosa, reported that he was shot in his ballistic vest just before he had planned to remove it. Reinosa reported that the shooter was able to fire two rounds at him before fleeing the scene.
The apartment complex is known to house mentally ill offenders and is a frequent stop on sheriff’s patrol. A resident described the building as “kinda scary” and noted that there is no normal security on patrol.
Reinosa was not injured because he was wearing his vest at the time of the incident. He was treated and released at a local hospital with no puncture wounds. “Think about what happened here — a sniper took out one of our deputies,” said mayor of Lancaster, California, R. Rex Parris at a press conference. “And the only reason that deputy is alive is because he had his vest on.”
“It’s not just a four-story apartment building, it’s a four-story apartment building that is government subsidized for mentally ill people,” the mayor also said. “I mean, let’s call it what it is. Why do you put mentally ill people in a four-story apartment building across from the sheriff’s department?”
The suspect has not been identified by authorities and was not apprehended on the scene. Police are actively searching for the suspect now.
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UPDATE: Angel Reinosa admitted to investigators on Saturday that he had made up the entire story about being shot. The sheriff’s department announced that Reinosa had been fired and a criminal investigation had been launched. “Reinosa admitted he was not shot at as he previously claimed,” L.A. County Homicide Capt. Kent Wegener said during a Saturday press conference. “He also told investigators he had caused the holes in his uniform by cutting it. There was no sniper, no shots fired, and no gunshot injury sustained to his shoulder.”
