The man suspected of killing two Palm Springs police officers and wounding another was wearing body armor and equipped with high capacity magazines when he was taken into custody, authorities said.

SWAT officers made several attempts over the course of a 12-hour standoff to make contact with suspect John Felix, 26, who was holed up in his family’s residence, authorities said at a Sunday morning news conference. But there was no response.

Remote-controlled robots were used unsuccessfully to pinpoint the suspect’s location in the house. Eventually, chemical agents were deployed into the residence, authorities said.

“Almost immediately ... the suspect emerged out the back door,” said Riverside County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Ray Wood. "When he emerged, he was wearing soft body armor and he had a number of high-capacity magazines on his person."

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John Felix (Riverside County Sheriff’s Department )

Felix was not armed and surrendered peacefully when he was taken into custody about 1 a.m., authorities said. He was rushed to a hospital for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening.

He was expected to be booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on two counts of murder of a peace officer.

The officers killed were identified as Officer Jose “Gil” Vega, a 35-year veteran of the department who was due to retire in December, and Officer Lesley Zerebny, who had been with the department 1 ½ years and was the mother of a 4-month-old girl.

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During Sunday’s news conference, an emotional Palm Springs Police Chief Bryan Reyes spoke about the loss of his officers and the impact on the community.

He spoke of how Vega, who was working overtime, on Saturday, was scheduled to retire in December, and about watching Zerebny’s husband, a Riverside sheriff’s deputy, mourn his wife’s loss.

“To see her laying there with her eyes open, and to witness her husband, in full Riverside Sheriff’s uniform, kiss her on the forehead for the last time, it’s tough,” Reyes said, his voice quivering. “We’re going to rely on you to help get us through this. Our community will get us through this.”

Reyes said the third officer who was wounded in Saturday night’s attack was doing well and assisting investigators. He said the officer could be released from the hospital sometime Sunday.

A candlelight vigil is schedule for 5 p.m. Sunday at the Palm Springs Police Department.

The suspect has a history of violence, records show.

Felix was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon after an initial charge of attempted murder in 2009. Prosecutors at the time accused him of being a member of a criminal gang. He was sentenced to two years in prison. In 2013, he was accused of resisting arrest with Palm Springs police on the same street where Saturday’s shooting occurred. He pleaded guilty to a count of malicious noise.

The officers went to the scene in the 2700 block of Cypress Road shortly after noon, police said. They tried to make contact with the suspect, who threatened to shoot the officers through the front door.

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“They were responding to a simple family disturbance and [the gunman] elected to open fire,” an emotional Reyes told reporters during an afternoon news conference.

Outside the Palm Springs Police Department early Sunday, residents continued to add to the growing tribute of flowers, American flags and candles left for the fallen officers. Among them were Carrie Donovan and her husband, Mike, a retired police officer who had worked with Vega.

“Gil was an outstanding police officer,” Mike Donovan said, as his wife wiped away tears. “Highest level of integrity, cared deeply for all the citizens of the city of Palm Springs and beyond and just gave his heart to the job and to the community. I can’t think of a better cop. It was an honor to work with him.”

He described Vega as the kind of police officer who “always thought of others before himself,” especially in emergency situations.

The couple heard about the deaths through social media and were in disbelief, especially after finding out who was involved. Mike Donovan noted that Vega was the father of eight children.

He said it has been years since the police department lost one of its officers to a shooting. Officer Gale Gene Eldridge was killed in the line of duty on January 1961, and Officer Lyle Wayne Larrabee was killed in January 1962.

“It’s just one of those things you think about being a guardian of the public. You don’t let it occupy your mind as you’re working, but you try and prepare yourself for it and your loved ones and when it does happen, we all come together.”

Nearby, police chaplains waited outside the department, preparing to speak with officers about their fallen colleagues. Steve Ballinger, lead chaplain for Riverside police, said he was among those who were asked to help.

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“Our hearts are broken,” he said. “This is happening way too much. I’ve been doing this for years. And it never gets easier. I look at it as an honor and a privilege to be able to come alongside these men and women in times like this to just do whatever I can to ease their pain.”

“There’s no words that I’m going to be able to share with them that’s going to take away their pain and their hurt,” Ballinger said. “But it’s that presence just to let them know they’re not in it alone.”

He gestured at the flowers and balloons that local residents had contributed to the makeshift memorial.

“The community dropping by the station here and dropping off flowers and candles ... it means the world to them,” Ballinger said of the department’s officers.

Nearby, two men held up signs to passing motorists that read “Law Enforcement Lives Matter.”

“We drove down to be here today for two reasons: one, to bring hope and encouragement through the gospel of Jesus Christ to people who are hurting and to show our respect for officer’s Gil and Lesley who made the ultimate sacrifice yesterday,” said Tony Miano, 52, a retired Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy.

“This hit very close to home for me,” Miano said. “To have this happen so close to that, hurts. They gave their lives in the line of duty trying to resolve someone else’s problem and trying to protect the community.”

Gov. Jerry Brown also issued a statement, saying that the officers were killed “doing what they do every day — protecting their community.”

“We grieve with the family members, friends and fellow officers coping with this senseless tragedy,” Brown said. “Anne and I join all Californians in offering our heartfelt condolences.”

The Palm Springs Police Department has turned the investigation of the shooting over to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

Late Saturday, police used a remote-controlled robot to open the door to the suspect’s house. But it wasn’t until hours later that Felix was arrested.

Palm Springs residents heard gunfire that resulted in three officers being shot, two of them fatally.

Frances Serrano, who lives on Cypress Road, across the street from where the shooting took place, was coming out of her garage around noon Saturday when her neighbor came bursting out of his own garage.

The man sought Serrano’s attention.

“He said, “Help. I need help. My son is in the house, and he’s crazy. He has a gun. He’s ready to shoot all the police,’ ” Serrano recalled the father saying.

The father “was very nervous,” Serrano said. “He was afraid of his son.”

Serrano, 65, said she called authorities, and as soon as she began walking back into her house, she heard gunshots, “starting with a loud — I mean really loud — ‘bang!’ ”

Law enforcement and the suspect appeared to be exchanging gunfire, she said.

“There were police everywhere,” Serrano said. “I looked out the window and saw police with rifles.” Serrano said she remembered her neighbor’s son, who she believed was in his mid-30s, as “a very nice young man — very polite.”

Juan Graciano, 67, who lives a block away from the suspect’s residence, said he saw officers trying to revive Zerebny. He said he was out in the yard about 1 p.m. when he noticed a crowd gathering at the corner of Cypress and Delgado roads.

“I saw a woman officer who had been laid down in the trunk of a police cruiser,” he said. “There were about four officers around her. I watched as they picked her up and laid her down on the street and began administering CPR. A few minutes later paramedics arrived and took her away.”

By 5:50 p.m. with police on every street corner continuing their search, Serrano said she was “really scared,” and had locked her windows and doors.

“Some are saying [the suspect] is still in the father’s house. Others say he’s on the run,” she said. “I knew there were problems before between the father and this young man. But I never imagined he would do something like this. I don’t want to believe it.

“I feel so sad for the officers,” she added. “It’s like a nightmare.”

Georgie Eden said she was outside doing yard work with her son and her husband when “all of a sudden I hear this pow, pow, pow pow.”

“At first I’m thinking, perhaps it was party poppers in the neighbor’s garden or something, and my husband’s like, ‘Uh, that’s gunfire — get in the house.’ ”

Eden then heard several more rounds of gunfire that seemed to continue for 10 to 20 minutes, she said.

“So we stayed indoors,” she said, “and it was kind of, pretty scary.”

Nothing like this has happened during the three years Eden has lived in Palm Springs, she said.

“It’s horrible to even think that officers are out there and very much at risk because of guns and people that have a lot of mental health issues,” she said. “Just being a human being, it [hits] close to home.”

Raw Video: Public Information Officer Sgt. William Hutchinson on three Palm Springs police officers shot

Lee Weigel, the city’s former police chief and a onetime city councilman, learned of the shooting while out of town Saturday at his son’s baseball game.

Weigel’s friend, who coaches another baseball team, walked up solemnly. At first, Weigel said, he heard that one officer had been shot. Before long, he learned it was three.

“It makes you weak in the knees,” he said.

The police department is relatively small and everyone knows one another, said Weigel, who worked in the department for 32 years.

City officials said the department is made up of 98 sworn officers. The last time an officer was killed in the line of duty was about five decades ago.

“It’s a family,” Weigel said. “This is the worst incident in the history of Palm Springs in terms of officer shootings.... This is shocking, a blow to the entire department and community.”

Times staff writers Vives and Sahagun and staff photographer Van der Brug reported from Palm Springs. Stevens and Gerber reported from Los Angeles. Times staff writers Richard Winton and Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.

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UPDATES:

12:45 p.m.: This article has been updated with new information from police.

10:10 a.m.: This story has been updated with new information from residents and police.

9:30 a.m.: This story has been updated with new information from area residents.

8:05 a.m.: This story has been updated with more information about the suspect.

7:20 a.m. This story has been updated throughout.

4:05 a.m.: This story has been updated with the suspect’s name.

1 a.m.: Updated with the suspect taken into custody.

11:12 p.m.: This story was updated with new information from police.

8:40 p.m. This story has been updated with new witness accounts.

7:50 p.m.: This story has been updated with details from police and city officials.

6:17 p.m.: This story has been updated with new information from police.

5:35 p.m.: This story has been updated with new information from police.

4:35 p.m.: This article was updated with additional reaction.

4 p.m.: This article was updated with new details throughout.

3:55 p.m. This article was updated with conditions of officers.

3:45 p.m.: This article was updated with new details from police about why officers arrived at the scene.

3:25 p.m.: The article was updated with reaction from a business owner and other edits.

3:10 p.m.: The article was updated throughout with more details.

This article was originally published at 2:35 p.m.</s>PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — Police: 3 officers shot in Palm Springs, California; their conditions are not known.</s>Describing the circumstances that led to the fatal shooting of two police officers in Palm Springs, California, Chief Bryan Reyes said: "The officers, from what I understand, were at the front trying to negotiate with the suspect to just comply. It was a simple family disturbance and he elected to open fire on...guardians of this city."

The Palm Springs Police Department officers fatally shot Saturday have been identified as Jose Gilbert Vega, a 35-year veteran officer working an overtime shift, and Lesley Zerebny, 27, a mother of a 4-month-old child, Police Chief Bryan Reyes said Saturday.

The suspect who fatally shot two police officers in Palm Springs, California, has not been captured, Police Chief Bryan Reyes said Saturday. Police have surrounded a house and "they're going to treat the house as if he's still in it," Reyes said.

Speaking of the two police officers killed on Saturday in Palm Springs, California, Police Chief Bryan Reyes said: "Today Palm Springs lost two brave officers. They go out every day and put their boots on the ground for everybody in this community. They gave it all for you."

Two police officers were killed and a third was wounded Saturday afternoon while responding to a domestic disturbance in Palm Springs, California, Police Chief Bryan Reyes said at a news conference.

Three California police officers were shot Saturday while responding to a domestic disturbance, according to the Palm Springs Police Department.

Authorities said they were searching for a suspect but did not identify or describe the alleged perpetrator. No motive was provided.

CNN affiliate KMIR reported the shooting happened around 1 p.m. near the area of Cypress and Del Lago Road.

This is the latest shooting of multiple police officers in the United States.

Palm Springs, a city of about 45,000 residents, is located 100 miles east of Los Angeles.</s>PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — Police chief in Palm Springs, California says 2 officers fatally shot, another wounded trying to resolve family dispute.</s>Two officers killed, one injured in Palm Springs shooting: police

Two US police officers were fatally shot and one injured Saturday while responding to a domestic disturbance call in Palm Springs, California, police said.

The shooting occurred after two officers went to a home after receiving a report from a female caller that her adult son was causing a disturbance, police chief Bryan Reyes told journalists.

“The male refused to open the door and threatened to shoot the officers through the closed doors,” Reyes said.

Approximately 10 minutes after they first responded, the two officers called for emergency reinforcement and said that shots had been fired.

“It was a simple family disturbance and (the gunman) elected to open fire,” an emotional Reyes said.

Three officers were wounded in the gunfire and taken to a local hospital, where two of them died.

“Today, Palm Springs lost two brave officers,” Reyes said, his voice trembling. “They go out every day and put their boots on the ground for everybody in this community.

“They gave it all for you.”

Reyes said the third victim was at the hospital but was “alert” and assisting investigators.

The police chief identified the victims as Jose Gilbert Vega, a 35-year old veteran of the department who was due to retire in December, and Lesley Zerebny, a 27-year-old officer who gave birth to a child four months ago.

The Palm Springs police chief said the area where the shooting occurred was still an active scene and the investigation had been turned over to the central homicide unit of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

The suspect remains at large and Reyes said police do not know his exact whereabouts, but “it’s still a fluid situation and there’s belief that he still may be in the house.”</s>Palm Springs, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued the following statement regarding the deaths of Palm Springs Police Department Officers Jose Gilbert Vega and Lesley Zerebny:

“Officers Vega and Zerebny were killed today doing what they do every day – protecting their community. We grieve with the family members, friends and fellow officers coping with this senseless tragedy. Anne and I join all Californians in offering our heartfelt condolences.”

Officers Vega and Zerebny were fatally shot today while responding to a family disturbance at a home in Palm Springs. A third officer was also shot and is receiving treatment at a hospital.



 Officer Vega, 63, was a 35-year veteran of the Palm Springs Police Department and was scheduled to retire in two months. He is survived by his wife and eight children.



 Officer Zerebny, 27, served with the Palm Springs Police Department for one and a half years. She is survived by her husband and four-month-old daughter.



 In honor of Officers Vega and Zerebny, Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff.</s>Three police officers were shot on Saturday in the Southern California desert resort town of Palm Springs, but their conditions were not immediately known, police said in a message posted online.

Details about the circumstances of the shooting were not immediately available. Local television news outlet KMIR-TV reported the shooting occurred just after 1 p.m., and that a suspect remained at large, while the three officers were taken to an area hospital.</s>Video: Two police officers dead, one wounded in California

Police in Palm Springs, California are searching for the man who shot and killed two officers and wounded another as they were attempting to resolve a domestic disturbance.</s>PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Two police officers were fatally shot and another injured Saturday afternoon in an incident involving a family dispute, the Palm Springs police chief said.

Dozens of law enforcement officers converged on a normally quiet residential neighborhood after the shooting, sealing off several blocks and evacuating some residents, police said.

Officers also issued a warning that people inside their homes should stay there, lock their doors and not answer them until further notice.

Police said the shooting occurred after officers arrived at a home following a report of a domestic disturbance.

SWAT officers raced to the scene after the shooting but no one was immediately arrested. Police said they believed no one else was hurt.

Gerardo Barrera told The Desert Sun he was working nearby when he heard gunshots. “I saw a person on the ground,” he said. “Someone kept pumping her chest but she wasn’t moving.”

The shooting occurred just three days after a popular Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant was shot and killed in the high desert town of Lancaster.

Sgt. Steve Owen was answering a burglary call when sheriff’s officials say he was shot and wounded by a man who then stood over him and shot him four more times.

A paroled robber has been charged with murder.</s>PALM SPRINGS, Calif.—Two police officers were shot and killed in the Southern California desert town of Palm Springs on Saturday, Oct. 8, after they were called to a family dispute and came under fire as they arrived on the scene, local police said.

A third officer was wounded in the afternoon shooting, Police Chief Bryan Reyes told a news conference. Police closed off nearby blocks as they searched for a suspect on Saturday night.

The officers who were killed were identified as Jose Vega, a 35-year veteran who was due to retire in December, and 27-year-old Lesley Zerebny, who had been an officer for about a year and a half and was the mother of a four-month-old baby.

"I am awake in a nightmare right now," Reyes told reporters.

One witness said the suspect's father told her his son expressed a desire to kill police just moments before the shooting, The Desert Sun newspaper reported.

"He came over and asked for help," Frances Serrano said of the father, who added that his son had mental issues, according to the newspaper.

Dozens of police rushed to the scene in a residential neighborhood of Palm Springs, a normally placid resort community about 100 miles east of Los Angeles.

Police in tactical gear surrounded the home, with an armored assault vehicle stationed in front of the house. It was possible the suspect remained in the house or had escaped the area, Reyes said.

Local media later showed robots being deployed in the area.

Officers went to the home after a female caller said her son was causing a disturbance, Reyes said. The officers were outside trying to negotiate with the suspect when shooting began.

"It was a simple family disturbance, and he elected to open fire on a few of the guardians of this city," Reyes said.

The wounded officer was alert and "doing well," Reyes added.

A neighbor, Juan Graciano, 67, said he heard angry shouting between a father and son who live at the residence before the father emerged from the home, crossed the street and asked another neighbor to call for help.

Graciano said the other neighbor apparently called police, who came under fire as they arrived at the home, and that some police returned fire. He said he saw one female officer who appeared to be wounded lying on the ground as fellow officers tried to resuscitate her.

Governor Edmund Brown said in a statement that the slain officers died "doing what they do every day — protecting their community. We grieve with the family members, friends and fellow officers coping with this senseless tragedy."
A gunman shoots three police officers in Palm Springs, California, leaving two dead and one injured.