Fire breaks out in a Calif. apartment where double killing suspect holed up
Large flames shot out of an apartment building in Modesto, Calif. late Thursday night where a suspect was believed holed up after a sheriff's deputy and civilian were shot to death.
Firefighters have put out a raging blaze at an apartment building in Modesto, Calif. late Thursday night where a suspect was believed holed up after a sheriff's deputy and civilian were shot to death.
According to CBS San Francisco, the deputy was serving an eviction notice at an apartment at the Whispering Woods development in Modesto when the gunman opened fire. A neighbor who asked not to be named said she heard at least 30 gunshots.
The blaze was extinguished by firefighters shortly before 2 a.m. local time (5 a.m. ET) Friday, said Modesto police officer Chris Adams. Officials named the deputy killed as 16-year police veteran Robert Paris. He was gunned down at around 11 a.m. (2 p.m. ET), Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson said."The fire is out," Adams told The Associated Press. "At this point we're just waiting for it to be safe enough for us to go inside."
It was not clear how the fire began, but the Modesto Bee reports that the county sheriff has acknowledged that flash-bang devices and tear gas could have been responsible.
CBS reported that everyone except the suspect had been evacuated from the apartment complex, which contains four apartments. The suspect is reportedly on the second floor.
Stanislaus County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Anthony Bejaran said authorities did not deploy any devices that could have sparked the fire, The Associated Press reported.
More than 100 law enforcement officers from the Central Valley arrived at the scene. FBI and SWAT teams surrounded the building and authorities evacuated nearby residents while others remained in their homes.
'Another dark day'
The incident began when two Stanislaus County deputies went to the north Modesto home to deliver the notice, said Christianson, who called the incident "another dark day" for law enforcement in California.
The incident began when two Stanislaus County deputies went to the north Modesto home to deliver the notice, said Christianson, who called the incident "another dark day" for law enforcement in California.
"One of my valued members of my team is dead," a distraught Christianson told reporters. "I am overwhelmingly frustrated that we don't have the sufficient resources to protect the community."
Neighbors Yemen Zokari and Steven Gasterlum, who told the Modesto Bee they live with their baby two doors down from the suspect gunman, told The AP that they looked out the window when they heard gunshots Thursday morning.
They said they saw two men lying on the ground, one on his stomach and another on his back closer to the door of the house from where the shots came.
"There was another officer that was kneeling on the side of the house while they were laying there," Zokari said. "I think he was staying out of the way from being shot."
Christianson said he believed that his deputies did not return fire.
2 Coast Guard members shot to death in AlaskaHe told The AP that deputy Paris paid the ultimate price while protecting the community. "This is a tragic day for law enforcement and public safety," Christianson said.
Paris, 53, is survived by his parents, a brother and two adult children. The name of the civilian has not been released. Authorities told the Bee the suspect is in his mid-40s and may have had military training. Bejaran, the sheriff's spokesman, would not confirm if authorities had been in contact with the suspect.
"There's not much more information I can give out," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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