A Stockton, Calif. police officer was shot and killed on Tuesday while responding to a domestic violence call, police said. The suspect was also killed during the incident after strangling an 8-year-old boy.
According to officials, Officer Jimmy Inn responded to the call and arrived at the home around 10 a.m. After Inn knocked on the door, the suspect, later identified as Lance Lowe, opened it and immediately shot Inn multiple times, CBS Sacramento reported.
A second police officer, Pancho Freer, arrived at the scene and heard gunshots before seeing Lowe standing over Inn with a gun in his hand. Freer engaged in a shootout with the gunman, with one bullet shattering the officer’s patrol car window.
Lowe went into the house and came back out carrying an 8-year-old boy in a stranglehold, refusing to comply with law enforcement demands. Another resident tackled Lowe, giving Freer the chance to shoot the suspect.
Both Inn and the gunman were transported to nearby hospitals where they later died from their injuries.
Inn leaves behind a wife and three children, including a seven-month-old son, a 12-year-old stepdaughter, and a 14-year-old stepson.
The Stockton Police Department posted a photo of Inn on Twitter, writing, “It is with great sadness that we announce Officer Jimmy Inn was shot & killed in the line of duty while on a DV call this morning. The suspect was also shot & killed by another SPD officer. Officer Inn was hired in 2015 & was a member of our honor guard. #NeverForget.”
On Tuesday, the Stockton Police Department had first tweeted about the incident at 10:39 a.m. PDT, saying, “SPD News: Officer-Involved-Shooting Investigation. We are currently investigating an officer-involved-shooting in the 4400 block of La Cresta Way. Please avoid the area.”
Footage of the scene just after the shooting was shared on YouTube. In the video, officers are seen running in a residential neighborhood toward a stretcher that was reportedly carrying the wounded officer.
After the officer is taken away in an ambulance, a second stretcher is seen next to the injured suspect. The video then reveals a cop car with a shattered window on the driver’s side.
“Wow, [the suspect] shot right through that [car window],” the individual recording says.
The incident comes just hours after another shootout left two deputies in Texas dead.
According to officials, Jeffrey Nicholas, 28, led Concho County deputies in a foot chase before barricading himself in a building. The standoff resulted in an exchange of gunfire that struck and killed two deputies, and injured another person, KLST/KSAN reported.
Nicholas was charged with two counts of capital murder of a peace officer or fireman, and is being held at Tom Green County Jail on a $4 million bond.
The two shootings, which occurred less than a day apart, fall on National Police Week, honoring law enforcement officers who have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.
“In 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May 15 falls, as National Police Week,” the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund website states. “Established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others.”
