A young Baldwin Park police officer who loved the Dodgers and was avid snowboarder was killed in a shooting late Saturday, killing a civilian and wounding another officer.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Officer, 35, Officer Samuel Liberos was identified as an officer who died Sunday. He was on an express train to USC Medical Center, Los Angeles County, but inspector records declared he died at the hospital. Injured police officer Anthony Pimentel was released from hospital on Sunday.
Officer Samuel Liberos died in a shootout at Baldwin Park on Saturday.
(Baldwin Police Station)
The identity of the male suspect accused of firing at the officer was not released as of Sunday afternoon when the shooting was determined to have been found dead near the shooting.
Juan Luvalkaba, 81, lives across the street where filming began on Saturday night. He told the Times on Sunday that he initially thought he was listening to firecrackers, but saw his neighbor fired something that looked like a long gun. He said the young man was in his front yard, shooting into the air, and in the direction of another nearby street, but he didn’t see any man particularly aiming for someone or anything.
Still, he called the grandmother of the man who lived with him and warned him not to let his grandson inside, hiding under the bed. “Don’t even open it to him,” Luvalkaba told her grandmother before entering her house. He said he couldn’t see the rest of what happened next, but was shaken by the deaths of the two.
“Thank God I’m still here,” Rubalkaba said.
At a press conference on Sunday, Baldwin Park Police Chief Robert A. Lopez fought back tears. “It’s very tragic to have to deal with this,” he said.
Lopez said he loves to watch Liberos travel to the Dodgers game and watch his team play in various stadiums.
“Officer Liberos gave his life in serving others, a deep testament to his unwavering dedication to duty and selfless courage,” the sheriff’s department wrote in a statement. “His losses are felt not only deeply, not just by his family and colleagues, but also by the entire Baldwin Park community and the entire law enforcement family. The death of an innocent civilian only deepens this tragedy.
He has been an officer at Baldwin Park Police Station since 2016, officials said.
According to a LinkedIn profile consistent with Riveros’ information, he became a law enforcement officer after studying UC Irvine’s criminology, law and society. There he provided lacrosse and mentoring in Orange County as part of his Criminology outreach program.
He is survived by his mother and sister.
“It was a Baldwin Park police officer who answered without hesitation when danger broke out last night and the phone helped. “On behalf of our council and city hall staff, I offered my sincere condolences to the victims, the Baldwin Park Police Department community, and the families of those affected by this violence. Last night was a tragic night for our community.”
Baldwin Park police officers first answered a call about a possible body shot on a rifle and sidewalk near 4200 Philharmonic Store Avenue around 7:12pm. When they arrived in the area they “were met in a shooting,” Sheriff Robert Luna said. Two officers were shot dead in the subsequent shootout.
The wounded officer was rushed to USC Medical Center, Los Angeles County.
Officials at the scene also found a civilian dead in the front yard of the home where the suspect was encountered, according to Baldwin Park officials. He was also taken to the hospital, but died there from his injuries, sheriff’s officials said.
The suspect was also injured, but was listed as stable Sunday afternoon. Luna said investigators had recovered the weapon.
Luna said the number of shots fired is unknown. His agency is leading the investigation into the shooting.
Sunday morning around Palm Avenue in 13500, it remained an aggressive crime scene. The entire block was still closed as emergency vehicles and investigators flooded the area.
But by the afternoon the streets had reopened. Several residents had dumped what appeared to be blood stained from several locations on the streets, on the sidewalks and nearby grass. Damage from the bullet hole was evident in windows of both the home and the police cruiser.
Joe Lear, who lives up to the point of Bullock from where the shooting took place, said he was still in shock.
“I could hear the bullets flying,” recalls Leah. “Shot was banging things, I told the kids to get off.”
He said he had lived in the neighborhood for 34 years and considered it relatively quiet, but occasionally heard gunshots. The Majorit Latino community consists of modest detached homes, most of which have fences around the front yard.
Evidence Marker Act as a Law Enforcement is working to investigate shooting scenes in Baldwin Park on Sunday.
(Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times)
11 shots rang out on Palm Avenue from 7:16pm on Saturday, video footage reviewed by The Times.
The homeowner whose ring camera captured the shooting refused to give him his name, but he initially said he thought the gunshot was fireworks. He later looked outside and saw police cars flood the street.
He also thought the neighborhood was usually “pretty calm,” he said from his Frontyard on Saturday night. Until Saturday, he couldn’t remember the nine years of shootings he lives on Palm Avenue, he said.
According to another video reviewed by The Times, six additional shots were fired near the corner of Palm and Filhurst Avenues at 7:26pm as the helicopter was surrounded by head.
By 9pm on Saturday, several law enforcement agencies had come down to the neighborhood and were making door-to-door visits around the area. Police vehicles from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and West Covina and El Monte Police Stations were stationed nearby.
“I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to family, friends, colleagues and members of the community affected by the police shooting at Baldwin Park yesterday,” Sen. Blanca Rubio (D. Baldwin Park) said in a statement. “I also want to express my sadness to the fallen officer and his family. I would like to thank the courage you held me and the deeply humble decision you made to protect and serve the people of Baldwin Park.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell also expressed his sadness to the community on behalf of his agency.
“This heartbreaking loss is a strict reminder that we ask for by risk officers we take every day when protecting our community,” McDonnell said in a statement. “Our hearts are at Baldwin Park PD, lamenting prayers for our beloved colleagues and his injured colleagues.”
Times staff photographers Luke Johnson and Rebecca Ellis contributed to this report.
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