Free Republic

A California man who is suspected to have shot a San Luis Obispo County deputy during an "ambush attack" on the local police department on Wednesday was shot and killed after a standoff with officers late Thursday afternoon. The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office said that officers confronted Mason Lira, 26, in Paso Robles after receiving reports of a shot officer just after 2 p.m. "Law enforcement officers were stationed in this area as part of a containment team assigned to keep the suspect, Mason Lira, from evading officers who were beginning a search of the riverbed," the sheriff's...

Takedown of shooter “not a win,” says sheriff. Last Wednesday, Mason James Lira, 26, attacked police in Paso Robles, California, murdered a homeless man, and shot San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s deputy Nicholas Dreyfus in the face. “This was a planned ambush,” Sheriff Ian Parkinson told reporters. In the ensuing manhunt, Lira moved from place to place, using “military-style tactics.” He waited for officers to arrive, and “he shot them just like he shot my deputy.” Lira shot three more officers before police shot and killed him on Thursday afternoon. For Sheriff Parkinson, “this was not a win,” hardly the...