Authorities surround California hotel after 3 officers shot

SACRAMENTO — Three California police officers and one suspect were shot Wednesday following a stolen vehicle investigation that led officers on a car chase and later to a hotel where they were hit by the gunfire.

Dozens of police cars and hundreds of armed officers have surrounded the hotel, where authorities said there may be two more suspects inside after three were taken into custody, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Tony Turnball said.

Two California Highway Patrol officers and one sheriff’s deputy were shot with a highpowered assault rifle and were in a hospital, Turnball said. He did not provide their names or conditions.

The male suspect who was shot is also in the hospital. Two women are also in custody. Their names were not released.

The incident began when authorities said the women led CHP officers on a vehicle chase in what was believed to be a stolen car. When the chase ended, the women were taken into custody and the police learned one of them had booked a hotel room in Sacramento.

Officers went to search the hotel. When they announced themselves, they were hit with gunfire coming from inside the room. Authorities say a man inside the room then left through the back, where he shot a sheriff’s deputy. The man was hit with return gunfire.

Jeff Marshall, who lives near the hotel, said he heard gunshots and then tires squealing and saw a grey Dodge Charger speed by his home, going the wrong way down a busy street.

Marshall estimated he heard 12 shots.

“It was like the wild West,” Marshall said.