4 officers, 2 suspects shot in separate California shootouts

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HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Two gunbattles in California on Thursday wounded four police officers hundreds of miles apart, including one shooting that killed a suspect in two slayings.

Two officers were shot in a Southern California beach city after at least one of them opened fire while responding to a report of a man with a knife. Police say it is too early to know if it was a friendly-fire incident, but the officers were expected to recover.

In Sacramento, two officers were recovering from injuries that were not life-threatening after a shootout with a suspect wanted in a double killing last week, who died near police headquarters.

That confrontation came as hundreds of law enforcement officers were in nearby Roseville for a memorial service for Sacramento County sheriff's Deputy Robert French, who was killed in a shootout last week that also left the suspect dead.

In Huntington Beach, about 45 miles south of Los Angeles, officers were called around 7 a.m. to a neighborhood for a report of a man with a knife slashing tires, Police Chief Robert Handy said.

During a confrontation with the suspect, at least one of the officers opened fire, striking him, police said.

Both officers were hit as well — one in the lower extremities and one in the torso, Handy said. The two officers were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, he said.

The suspect also was hospitalized with injuries that weren't considered life-threatening. A knife was found at the scene, Handy said.

The chief said police "can't say it was a friendly-fire incident" but that there was no indication of another suspect. Investigators were still looking for evidence.

 "There could've been a ricochet, there could have been all kinds of things," he said.

               

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