Lompoc homicide investigation leads to officer-involved shooting
A homicide that occurred in the Santa Ynez Riverbed in Lompoc was followed by an officer-involved shooting Sunday morning, according to Lompoc Police Sgt. Kevin Martin.
Shortly after 6 a.m., officers responded to the riverbed, in the area of the multipurpose trail roundabout, on a report of a homicide, Martin said. They found a body and were given a description of a possible suspect by witnesses.
Shortly before 7 a.m., a subject matching the suspect's description was located in the area of A Street and Airport Avenue.
"Officers responded to that area, and as they arrived the subject began to fire rounds at the officers," Martin said. "Officers exited their vehicles and returned that gunfire, striking the suspect."
The wounded suspect was taken by AMR ambulance to Lompoc Valley Medical Center. The suspect's name and details on his condition were not released.
No Lompoc police officers were injured, Martin said.
Martin declined to say anything about the victim in the homicide. The name of the victim will not be released until family members are notified.
"At this point, the investigations are so early in that it's inappropriate for us to release anything," Martin said more than four hours after the officer-involved shooting.
Lompoc officers were continuing to investigate the homicide, while the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department was investigating the officer-involved shooting, Martin said.
“Our protocol here in the county is if there's an officer-involved shooting, for transparency purposes, it's always better to have an outside agency conduct the investigation," Martin said.
However, riverbed residents were mourning the death of the man they called a "genuinely good person." They believe a dispute over a woman led to the slaying.
A Street between Pine and College avenues remained closed for several hours Sunday while sheriff's deputies investigated the officer-involved shooting.
While the investigation continued in riverbed, people walked and rode bikes on the multipurpose trail Sunday afternoon.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
This story was originally published November 19, 2017 at 10:17 AM with the headline "Lompoc homicide investigation leads to officer-involved shooting."