Firefighter Killed, Captain Shot By Off-Duty Colleague

LOS ANGELES, CA — An off-duty Los Angeles County firefighter killed another firefighter and repeatedly shot a fire captain at an Agua Dulce fire station before apparently turning the gun on himself at his home as it burned to the ground Tuesday morning.

The slain firefighter, 44, was a 20-year veteran of the department. The 54-year-old fire captain remains in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds, said Los Angeles County fire Chief Daryl Osby. Osby did not name the victims nor the shooter, who was found dead at his burning home in Acton following a standoff with Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies. Authorities did not identify a motive for the workplace shooting, which stunned the county's tightknit firefighting community.

Osby described the slain firefighter as a "brave, committed, loyal member of our department. He called the shooting "some of the worst news that I've heard in my career."

"I stand here with a heavy heart," Osby said at a mid-afternoon news conference. "Today is truly a sad day and a tragic day for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. And I stand here from the perspective that you see other people do, but I just never thought it would be me or our fire department family that would suffer this type of loss.

"... I recognize and we all recognize that the work that our firefighters and our firefighter-paramedics do is a dangerous and arduous profession. And many times they put their lives in danger to protect and serve others when they receive 911 calls for service. But yet, as a fire chief, I never thought that when our firefighters face danger that they would face that danger in one of our community fire stations."

The shooting occurred shortly before 11 a.m. Tuesday at the county fire Station 81 in the 8700 block of Sierra Highway in Santa Clarita. The wounded fire captain was airlifted to Henry Mayo Hospital in Newhall. Witnesses identified the shooter to the responding deputies, who traced him to his home in nearby Acton where a standoff ensued as the house burnt to the ground.

Authorities found the suspected gunman dead of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot in the empty pool behind the house.

Fire department crews had been held back from attacking the fire, with the suspect inside allegedly threatening to shoot anyone who approached the building. Sheriff's deputies hovering in a helicopter above the scene later reported spotting the body in the backyard.

Los Angeles County firefighters called in a helicopter to drop water on the fire to keep it from spreading to nearby brush and propane tanks.

While fire crews were unable to approach the burning home on the ground, a series of water drops were conducted from the air to prevent the flames from spreading to nearby brush or structures. The flames, however, gutted the entirety of the sprawling home.

As the home continued to smolder, a bomb squad arrived at the scene.

At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Osby said he could not comment on whether there was any pending internal disciplinary action against the off-duty firefighter. He said all such details will be part of the sheriff's department investigation. Sources told the Los Angeles Times the shooter and the slain firefighter had been involved in an ongoing dispute.

The deadly shooting rocked the fire department, and left Osby at times fighting to maintain his composure as he reported the details.

"This morning when I received the news, it was some of the worst news that I've heard in my career," Osby said. "And as a fire chief, I've dealt with a lot of death and a lot of fallen members of my department. And I've always prayed that we would never have a line-of-duty death. I never thought that if it occurred that it would occur in this fashion.

"I know that as firefighters we are in a profession of providing assistance to others," he said. "But I ask that in this particular situation, that we ask you for your support, that we ask you for your assistance, that we ask you for your prayers in our time of need."

Osby said the firefighter who died had been with the department for more than 20 years and was a career firefighter, starting in a U.S. Forest Service Explorer Program. He described him as "truly dedicated, one of our better firefighters, amazing, and a true loss to our department."

Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, who chairs the Board of Supervisors, wrote on Twitter, "My most sincerest condolences to the family of the firefighter who was tragically killed in today's shooting at Fire Station 81 in Agua Dulce," Solis wrote on Twitter. "My thoughts are with our @LACOFD family. At my direction, flags will be flown half-staff at all County buildings."

County Supervisor Janice Hahn called the shooting "an unspeakable tragedy."

"The work our firefighters do is dangerous," she wrote on Twitter. "They go to work every day knowing they may be asked to put their lives on the line to protect others. Between emergency calls, the fire station must have felt like their safe haven. Unfortunately that sense of safety has now been shattered.

"But I know, in spite of the violence today in Agua Dulce, our LA County firefighters will continue their unwavering commitment to protecting the rest of us and we thank them for that."

THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY. PLEASE REFRESH THE SCREEN FOR UPDATES.

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