Los Angeles County Sergeant Shot and Killed, Suspect in Custody

A Los Angeles County sheriff's sergeant who was in critical condition after being shot in the face today has died. A suspect was taken into custody after a search for the shooter in Lancaster near Antelope Valley College, which issued a shelter-in- place order Wednesday afternoon, reports KTLA .

The sergeant killed was Steve Owen, according to Executive Officer Neal Tyler of the Sheriff’s Department, reports the Los Angeles Times .

Owen, a 29-year department veteran, was awarded a Medal of Valor in 2014, the department's highest honor. His wife is a member of the department's Arson Explosive Unit.

The shooting occurred at 12:35 p.m. in the 3200 block of West Avenue J-7, according to Deputy Mike Barraza with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Lancaster Station, reports KTLA .

The area is a couple blocks north of the Antelope Valley College campus, and a SWAT team and dozens of deputies could be seen responding to a residential area there.

Preliminary information indicated a deputy was struck by gunfire and taken to a hospital in unknown condition, Barraza said. He later said a sergeant and a deputy were both shot. That information was later corrected, with sheriff's spokeswoman Nicole Nishida saying only a sergeant was shot.

Nishida confirmed about 2:15 p.m. that one person was in custody and no suspects were outstanding.

The Sheriff's Department said in a news release that the sergeant was in critical condition. Sheriff's homicide detectives were responding.

The sergeant was shot in the face, Lancaster's mayor told the Los Angeles Times , which reported the sergeant and a deputy were responding to a burglary call.

It is now known that a gunbattle ensued after police responded to a residential burglary call in which the subject had reportedly taken two hostages, according to the Los Angeles Times .