The entry team hit the front door while another group of SWAT officers fired weapons at the back of the home to distract the suspect. The entry team threw in a flash-bang, but its effect was apparently muted by a low wall inside the home. Officers told the Times that the same wall obscured their view of the interior of the home.
According to the Times, officers moved along the wall, and the gunman popped up and shot Officer James Veenstra in the face from 10 to 15 feet away. The officers returned fire. But the gunman got off more shots and hit Officer Randal Simmons in the neck.
The bullet that struck Simmons pierced his brain stem. He died minutes later at a local hospital.
Veenstra was hit in the jaw. He underwent a three-hour operation to save his life. Doctors told the Times that he faces many future surgeries, but his prognosis is very good. He is the husband of LAPD Capt. Michelle Veenstra.
After the shooting SWAT withdrew to evacuate its wounded and one of the civilian victims whom they thought was alive.