By Associated Press
BURBANK, Calif. -- Two officers were wounded and a man was killed in a gunfight that erupted during what police said began as a routine traffic stop.
Authorities searched this Los Angeles suburb early Sunday for another man who they said got away.
The shootout, in front of a Ramada Inn near downtown, happened about 6:30 p.m. Saturday when the officers pulled over a sports utility vehicle and the men got out firing weapons, said Sgt. William Berry, a spokesman for the Burbank Police Department. Berry did not say what the nature of the stop was.
“The officers were hit several times but still managed to kill one of the suspects,” Berry said Sunday.
Both officers underwent surgery Saturday night. Police withheld their names and conditions pending notification of relatives.
Berry said the officers are men -- one in his 20s, the other in his 40s -- and both were wearing bulletproof vests.
It wasn’t immediately clear what prompted the shooting.
“There are only four known witnesses to the shooting,” Berry said. “One is dead, two are in surgery, so we can’t really ask them, and one is still at large.”
There were no witnesses other than the officers and the suspects.
Officers in protective gear and armed with rifles scoured the neighborhood around the hotel looking for the second man. Dogs were also brought in to help with the search.
As police searched the area, the California Highway Patrol closed a five-mile stretch of Interstate 5 for several hours. It was reopened shortly before midnight, although local on and off ramps remained closed early Sunday.