During a child pornography raid in Lakeside, California against Daniel Witczak, Detective Ali Perez and Sgt. Craig Johnson were reportedly shot. Perez is currently in critical but stable condition, while Johnson was shot in the arm and expected to recover. Witczak allegedly kept pornographic images of his girlfriend’s children on his cell phone with the intent to sell them. Click below to read more.
One of two veterans in the San Diego Sheriff’s Department injured in a gun battle in Lakeside, Calif., is in critical condition, law enforcement sources said Tuesday night.
Detective Ali Perez and Sgt. Craig Johnson were reportedly shot and injured by Daniel Witczak after confronting him Tuesday afternoon in a Lakeside apartment complex, sheriff’s department authorities said.
Witzcak, 30, was confronted by the deputies for allegedly keeping pornographic images of his girlfriend’s children on his cell phone with the intention of selling them, according to his girlfriend.Perez was in critical but stable condition Tuesday night, sources told NBC San Diego. He was shot at least twice with a high-powered gun, including once in the stomach.
Johnson was shot in the arm and is expected to recover.
Lt. Duncan Fraser from the sheriff’s department said both endured hours of surgery after being transported to the hospital.
“It’s too early to tell,” Sheriff Bill Gore said of the deputies’ condition, “but any time you have major gunshot trauma, there’s great cause for concern.”
The entire sheriff’s homicide detail was at the scene of the shooting investigating and canvassing the area, Fraser said. They secured a warrant to investigate the residence early Tuesday evening.
One of the deputies is married to an employee with the San Diego Police Department, SDPD Chief Bill Lansdowne said.
“This is a very difficult day for the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and everyone in law enforcement,” Gore said to reporters after one of the deputies had just gotten out of surgery. “It’s a constant reminder of what our law enforcement officers in this country face every day.”
Witczak was taken to Scripps Mercy Hospital, according to a hospital source. There is no word yet on his condition.
The girlfriend told NBC San Diego that she was getting her two daughters ready for school when she found pornographic pictures of her boyfriend and her two daughters engaged in sex acts on his cell phone. Her boyfriend told her that he planned to sell the photos for $50,000 to a child porn site.
The woman said that after the deputies stormed the apartment, her boyfriend shot the two deputies with a high-powered rifle and then shot himself.
