DOWNEY, Calif., Nov. 19 (UPI) ─ A police officer who was found gunned down in his personal vehicle in a California police parking lot early Thursday was the victim of a targeted attack, investigators said.
Officer Ricardo Galvez was shot dead while sitting in the driver’s seat of his vehicle about 11 p.m. at the Downy Police Department, located about 15 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Two men ran to his car, opened fire and took off in a vehicle, police said.
Police have detained at least three people, but it is unclear whether they have been charged.
“It appears that this officer was targeted,” Homicide Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. “It doesn’t look like it was random.”
Galvez, known around town as “Ricky,” had just gotten off work when he was shot, police said. He was a U.S. Marine Reservist and was twice deployed during Operation Enduring Freedom. He was not married and had no children.
