3 Arrested In Slaying Of LAPD Officer Juan Diaz​

LOS ANGELES, CA — Authorities arrested three suspects in the shooting death of off-duty officer Juan Diaz Friday morning following a series of raids in the Mt. Washington area and Murrieta and Temecula in Riverside County.

The three communities awoke to massive SWAT Team deployments as police served early morning arrest warrants. Diaz was shot and killed in Lincoln Heights Saturday while eating at a taco stand with his girlfriend. Shortly before the shooting, he had confronted taggers he spotted in the area. The death of the young officer rattled the community.

"These are the folks that we believe are responsible for that senseless murder of Juan Diaz," said LAPD Assistant Chief Beatrice Girmala.

The suspects are in their 20s, Girmala said. Their names were not immediately released.

"Early this morning, we served several warrants in connection with the murder of Officer Juan Diaz last week," the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement. "Thank you to our law enforcement partners, including Murrieta PD for their assistance today."

RELATED: LAPD Swarms Murrieta, Temecula Neighborhoods In Warrant Service

The early morning actions were taken by members of the Los Angeles Police Department's SWAT team and Metropolitan Division, according to NBC4, which reported that a raid in Mt. Washington took place about a mile from the scene where the killing occurred.

Law enforcement sources told NBC4 that the raid in Murrieta took place in a neighborhood where one of the suspects had been tracked earlier this week.

Diaz had been assigned to the Special Operations Division unit of the Professional Standards Bureau, or internal affairs, though all indications were that the shooting was unrelated to his secretive work, law enforcement sources told NBC4.

Following the arrests, the Los Angeles Police Protective League union issued this statement:

``We are grateful that the cowards and thugs accused of the cold- blooded murder of Officer Juan Diaz are in custody. We appreciate the relentless effort our detectives and officers put in to finding these killers. We urge District Attorney Jackie Lacey to prosecute these cop killers to the fullest extent of the law, including seeking the death penalty. We continue to pray for and support Officer Diaz's family during this time of grief."

In piecing together the moments leading up to the shooting, investigators told Los Angeles Times Diaz was in line with his girlfriend and her two brothers at a taco stand when he saw some tagging a wall and told him to stop. The vandal left and got reinforcements, who threatened Diaz before opening fire, killing Diaz and wounding another, police contend.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.