[Updated at 5:40 p.m. PT]
Shooting suspect Christopher Dorner has not emerged from a cabin destroyed by fire, the Associated Press reports. Dorner, the focus of a week-long manhunt, was believed to have barricaded himself in the mountain home after a deadly shootout with officers earlier Tuesday.
A single gunshot apparently fired inside the cabin was heard just before the fire broke out around 4:30 p.m. PT, a law enforcement source who request anonymity told the AP.
Fox News and CBS News are both reporting that Dorner has died inside the charred cabin.
Officials were waiting for the fire to burn out before approaching the ruins to search for a body, the AP reported.
Authorities said they believe Dorner fled to the cabin after exchanging gunfire with deputies, killing one and wounding another.
[From earlier reports]
The cabin where former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner is believed to be barricaded is now on fire.
Media at the scene reporter hearing numerous rounds of ammunition blasting about the time fire became fully involved. It is unknown if police and the suspect exchanged shots or they were ignited by the blaze.
It is also unknown if Dorner is still inside, but officers at the scene are taking a wait-and-see approach. Thick black smoke and flames can been seen coming from the mountain cabin.
Police and tactical units are requesting that the fire personnel stay back.
Overheard from authorities on the police radio channel:
"Hold until we start mop up with fire."
"Still not ready for fire. There's a lot of smoldering."
"More ammo going off."
"Fire doing quite well. I'm going to let it go."
Police want to let the fire burn through the basement as a precaution before entering. A firefighter raised in that residence is on the scene, and is telling officers that the basement is 12 x 15 feet. The ceiling of the basement is wood.
Police captain to officers surrounding the house: "If you see something catching on fire that's not supposed to be you let me know, otherwise let it go."
Police now asking if the firefighter familiar with the house knows if there would be any reason for ammunition to be stored in the home. Firefighter has not been in the residence in years so he doesn't know.
Kyle Martin, whose family owns the burning cabin, just told CNN that it was not being rented at the time. He said it does have electricity, but no internet, phone or cable.
Police are assembling a 10-man team to keep an eye on the garage.
NBC News reports that the second officer wounded during the early shootout is in serious condition, but is expected to survive.
[From earlier events]
Police said Dorner fled inside the cabin after after reportedly killing one deputy and wounding another during a gun battle earlier this afternoon.
Authorities have the cabin surrounded near Big Bear Lake, about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Dozens of SWAT officers and armored vehicles have been sent to the scene.
"Enough is enough. It is time to turn yourself in," LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith said during a televised press conference. "It's time to end the bloodshed."
Cmdr. Smith said Tuesday's shootout between Dorner and officer occurred about 12:30 p.m. when deputies responded to a call about a vehicle have been stolen by a man resembling the wanted ex-officer.
According to the L.A. Times:
"Hundreds of rounds" were exchanged in about half an hour during the gun battle between fugitive former police officer Christopher Dorner and law enforcement officers Tuesday afternoon, sources said.
Days ago, Dorner broke into a cabin off Route 38, a source said. He allegedly tied up the couple inside and held them hostage until Tuesday morning when he left. It is unclear whether Dorner stole their vehicle or another, but Fish and Wildlife officers knew to be on the lookout for a white pickup truck when they spotted Dorner driving one and attempted to stop him, the source said.
A spokeswoman with the San Bernardino sheriff's office said the two wounded deputies were transported from the area via air ambulance. Their conditions were not immediately known.
During the shootout, police said Dorner apparently fled into a nearby cabin.
"Suspect is pinned down next to the shooting scene," a San Bernardino dispatcher could be heard saying over a police radio channel. "Marshals have a positive ID and visual of the suspect."
A 3-mile-wide perimeter has been set up by police, and authorities were asking news helicopters not to broadcast live video of the cabin.
[SLIDESHOW: Manhunt for former LAPD officer]
"We don't want to tip our hand," Cmdr. Smith said.
Residents in the area were being told to stay inside and lock their doors. The California Highway Patrol has closed all highways near the scene.
"People should stay away from that area. It is not safe right now," a police spokeswoman told KTLA-TV.
Dorner has been on the run for seven days. He is accused of killing three people--including one police officer--last week.
The 33-year-old former naval and LAPD officer turned triple-murder suspect, has been at the center of a massive manhunt stretching from the Bernardino Mountains—where his burned-out pickup truck was found last week—to the Mexican border.
In a manifesto posted online earlier this month, Dorner promised "unconventional and asymmetrical warfare" against the LAPD, which fired him in 2008. On Saturday, actor Charlie Sheen—who was mentioned in Dorner's online manifesto—released a video pleading with the accused killer to call him.
On Saturday, police conducted a door-to-door search for Dorner in Big Bear Lake, Calif., but snowfall hampered their efforts in the surrounding mountains.
On Sunday in Los Angeles, an increased police presence was seen at the Grammy Awards, which some thought Dorner might target. In Northridge, Calif., a home improvement store was evacuated after a report of a possible Dorner sighting, hours after the LAPD announced a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
"This is the largest local reward ever offered, to our knowledge," Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said at a news conference. "This is an act of domestic terrorism. This is a man who has targeted those that we entrust to protect the public. His actions cannot go unanswered."
Holder to investigate....Holder
- sweet-a-kins
on Feb. 12, 2013 at 4:25 PM