Updated 5:15 p.m.
A man suspected of fatally shooting a Sacramento police officer responding to a domestic violence call surrendered after an eight-hour standoff in which he fired his rifle on and off, preventing officers from getting to their colleague as she lay wounded for nearly an hour, authorities said Thursday.
The suspect, Adel Sambrano Ramos, 45, was taken into custody at about 2 a.m., and investigators were gathering evidence at the home where Officer Tara O’Sullivan, 26, was shot Wednesday, the Sacramento Police Department said in a statement. Homes around the area were evacuated and it wasn’t until about 4:30 p.m. Thursday that residents were allowed to return.
Ramos was booked on charges relating to the killing of O’Sullivan, police said.
“It is with a broken heart that we have to share with all of you that earlier today we lost one of our own,” the department said in a tweet early Thursday morning. “She gave her young life while protecting our community.”
O’Sullivan died at UC Davis Medical Center hours after the gunman shot her, Deputy Chief Dave Peletta told reporters. It has been 20 years since a Sacramento police officer was killed while on duty.
“The men and women of our department will continue to do our jobs to protect the community. And we will draw from the strength and courage of Tara,” Peletta said. “Our hearts are with Tara’s family whose pain can hardly be imagined.”
The suspect has a history of violence. Ramos was charged with misdemeanor battery of a minor in 2018 in a case that is currently active and he pleaded guilty to battery of a spouse in 1998, said Kim Pedersen, a Sacramento Superior Court spokeswoman. His arraignment is scheduled for Monday afternoon in the shooting of the officer.
His brother, Orlando Ramos, told The Associated Press that Adel Ramos was estranged from the family, had a history of domestic violence and drug abuse, and had been in and out of jail for years. He said he hopes his older brother spends the rest of his life in prison.
Peletta said O’Sullivan was with another officer when she was shot just before 6 p.m. Wednesday. When she was wounded, she had been helping a woman collect her belongings to leave a home, Sgt. Vance Chandler said. The other woman was not hurt, and the relationship between that woman and the gunman was not immediately known.
O’Sullivan was wounded while she was in a backyard and officers could not reach her for about 45 minutes after she was shot because the gunman kept firing, Chandler said.
“Our officers maintained cover in safe positions until we were able to get an armored vehicle in the area,” he said.
