One hostage was shot and killed and two other victims, including a police officer, were injured in a shooting at a park in California, according to authorities.
Police say that the gunman took two bystanders as hostages during the incident on Thursday afternoon near Roseville’s Mahaney Park, a suburb northeast of Sacramento.
One of those hostages was shot and died of their injuries, law enforcement officials told reporters.
A California Highway Patrol officer was also shot in the hand and chest and is in stable condition, according to officials.
The Roseville Police Department said that the CHP officer was attempting to serve an arrest warrant at the time of the shooting. The gunman was eventually taken into custody.
As officers tried to serve the warrant the suspect fled on foot and began shooting back at officers. While running from officers the suspect took his two hostages, both of whom were hit by the suspect’s gunfire.
The victims were taken to Sutter Roseville Medical Center, a spokesperson told the Associated Press. No details have been given about their condition or the nature of their wounds.
Facilities at the park were placed into a lockdown that has since been lifted, according to the Roseville Police Department. The fitness centre and the library in the park will remain closed for the rest of the day.
Staff, visitors and children in camps at the park were all unharmed in the incident, reported ABC10.
The Roseville Police Department stated in a social media post that a “suspect has been taken into custody and the scene is safe and no longer active.”
“We saw a bunch of people coming through and we turned and looked and it was seven policemen with their guns drawn and a young man, I would say in his 20s, was walking with his dog really fast and they were yelling at him to get down,” an eyewitness told KTXL.
“He turned around, I think I saw a gun flash, and the cops just opened up on him. It was very scary for these kids. there were bullets flying.”
