Link sought in ambush killings of two officers
SANTA CRUZ (AP) — The FBI and local investigators are trying to determine a possible link between the ambush-style killing of a Northern California sheriff ’s deputy Saturday night and that of a federal officer who was fatally shot outside the US courthouse in Oakland more than a week ago.
The FBI office in San Francisco confirmed Sunday its investigators were working with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff ’s Department to determine a possible motive, and links to other crimes committed in the San Francisco Bay Area, including the attack that killed a Federal Protection Service officer and critically wounded another officer on May 29. Both involved shooters in a van.
An active-duty Air Force sergeant has been arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting Santa Cruz Sheriff ’s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, 38, and wounding two other officers Saturday.
Gutzwiller “was a beloved figure here at the sheriff’s office,” Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart said.
“Damon showed up today to do his job, to keep this community safe, and his life was taken needlessly,” a visibly shaken Hart said.
On Saturday, deputies responded to a 911 call around 1:30 p.m. about a suspicious van in Ben Lomond — an unincorporated area near Santa Cruz. The caller said there were guns and bomb-making devices inside, Hart said.
When deputies arrived, the van pulled away and the deputies followed. The van went down a driveway at a home and the deputies were ambushed by gunfire and explosives after getting out of their vehicle. Gutzwiller was wounded and later died at a hospital.
The FBI has been trying to identify a suspect and motive in the drive-by shooting outside the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building that killed Dave Patrick Underwood, 53, and critically wounded another contracted security officer employed by the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service.