UPDATED on Thursday: The 31-year-old man suspected of shooting a Santa Monica Police Department officer also allegedly shot two juveniles in a Waymo vehicle in the city earlier in the week, according to police. The suspect remained in custody today in lieu of $1 million bail.
The officer was hospitalized in stable condition with a serious but not life-threatening injury, the department announced. His name has not been released but SMPD Chief Ramon Batista said he joined the department recently.
Santa Monica Mayor Lana Negrete told reporters the officer sustained a hand wound.
The shooting near the Santa Monica Place mall occurred shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday. Santa Monica police issued an alert around 1:30 p.m., urging the public to avoid Fourth Street and Colorado Avenue, where the mall is located.
The officer approached the suspect “because he recognized him from the bulletin” about Sunday’s Waymo shooting, according to Negrete.
The officer identified himself to the suspect, who took off running, said police.
“During the brief pursuit, the suspect ambushed the officer and fired multiple rounds, striking him before fleeing the area,” said Batista.
Officers from Santa Monica, Los Angeles, El Segundo and other agencies descended on the area to conduct a coordinated search, including assistance from at least one search dog.
Around 4:30 p.m., officers were seen taking a suspect into custody in Palisades Park near the California Incline, about a mile from the mall. The arrest and recovery of a gun followed a tip from a local resident, who saw photos of the suspect released by police, Batista told reporters.
The earlier Waymo robotaxi shooting occurred about 11:40 p.m. Sunday directly adjacent to the mall, near the intersection of Second Street and Broadway.
It was believed to have been the result of an earlier argument between the victims, both 17, and the suspect, said a SMPD spokesperson. Those victims also suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
An operator at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Inmate Information Center identified him as David John Hairston, who has been booked on suspicion of at least one count of attempted murder. His bail was set at $1 million and he was scheduled to appear in the LAX Courthouse on Friday, the operator said. Hairston is believed to have been homeless.
“This marks the second time in eight months that a Santa Monica officer has been seriously injured in the line of duty — first by stabbing, now by gunfire. The officer injured in the earlier stabbing continues to recover,” according to a statement from the department .
PREVIOUSLY, Wednesday at 5:23 p.m.: Santa Monica police have confirmed that the suspect wanted in connection with a shooting that injured an officer near Santa Monica Place mall has been taken into custody. The weapon believed to have been used in the shooting was also recovered.
PREVIOUSLY, 3:16 p.m.: An officer was injured at lunchtime today in a shooting in Santa Monica, prompting a search for a suspect at the Santa Monica Place Mall.
Santa Monica Police issued an alert around 1:30 p.m., urging the public to avoid Fourth Street and Colorado Avenue, where the mall is located.
Officers were conducting a coordinated search for the suspect, according to department spokesman Lt. Lewis Gilmour. Police described the suspect as a man in his 30s, last seen wearing a dark jacket and black pants. A photo of the suspect was posted on the department’s social media account.
It was not immediately clear if the officer, who was taken to a hospital for treatment, was struck by gunfire.
The incident comes just two days after two kids riding in a Wayo were shot adjacent to the mall, at the corner of 2nd Street and Broadway around 11:38 p.m.
“Preliminary information indicates the shooting was a targeted and isolated incident that followed a verbal altercation earlier in the evening between the victims and the suspect,” Santa Monica police said. “At the time of the shooting, the victims were passengers in an autonomous rideshare vehicle when the suspect approached on foot and fired multiple rounds into the vehicle before fleeing the scene.”
City News Service contributed to this report.