LA Sheriff’s department hits out at social media posts falsely identifying Compton gunman as they offer 100k reward

Shooting occurred on Saturday as deputies sat in patrol car

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has warned that a social media post that claimed to identify the suspect in a shooting of officers in Compton is not accurate.

On Saturday, two deputies were shot while sitting in their patrol car at a Metro rail station in Compton, California.

The deputies, a 24-year-old man and a 31-year-old mother, are expected to recover after they both underwent surgery over the weekend, according to Los Angeles County sheriff Alex Villanueva.

On Saturday, the department released footage of the shooting from a nearby surveillance camera, and offered a $100,000 (£77,556) reward to anyone who could help identify the alleged shooter.

The surveillance footage showed a suspect walk up to the patrol car and fire two shots into the passenger side window before running from the scene.

The authorities described the suspect as a black man between the ages of 28 to 30, but admitted that they only had a “very generic description” of him.

However, on Sunday, a social media post that claimed to identify the suspect in the shooting spread, which prompted the department to refute the claims.

The department tweeted: “Currently, there is a social media post that is being circulated which identifies a male out of the Los Angeles area as the suspect responsible for the ambush of our two deputies yesterday.

“This is ERRONEOUS information and there are no named or wanted suspects at this time.”

The shooting was condemned by both the Democratic nominee for president, Joe Biden, and the Republican nominee Donald Trump.

President Donald Trump called for the shooter to be given the death penalty, while Mr Biden tweeted: “This cold-blooded shooting is unconscionable and the perpetrator must be brought to justice.”

In recent weeks, the department has faced scrutiny over police brutality, following more than three months of Black Lives Matter protests across the US that were sparked by the death of unarmed black man George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police.

A small group of Compton residents protested against police outside the hospital where the deputies were recovering on Sunday, and sheriff Villanueva described the gathering  as an “unlawful assembly of a group of protesters.”

The FBI is aiding the department with its investigation into Saturday’s shooting.