Off-duty officer shoots 2 men at Angel Stadium

A shooting in the parking lot of Angel Stadium of Anaheim sent two people to the hospital late Wednesday, according to the Anaheim Fire Department.

The shooting occurred at 10:26 p.m., after a game between the Angels and the Colorado Rockies. 

Updated at 4:20 a.m.: According to the Anaheim police, the gunman was an off-duty Anaheim police officer who said the two men hit him on the head with an "unknown object." 

The officer, who was at the game with his wife and two children, shot one man in the head and the second man in the upper body. Their conditions are not immediately known. The officer was also taken to a hospital.

The Orange County district attorney's office is investigating the case because it involves an officer. KNX Newsradio quoted some fans as saying that they were startled to hear the gunfire and that police quickly swarmed the scene.

This is the latest violent incident during a professional baseball game in the L.A. area. At the Dodgers' home opener against the San Francisco Giants in April, a man was stabbed multiple times in a stadium parking lot after getting into an argument with several men in a pickup truck. Also in April, a fan died during a fight at the Angels' home opener.

-- Monte Morin and Shelby Grad

Comments

[N.Olsen Utah FBLA]

OMG my fbla team was just leaving when this happened. we was in the parking lot!!! im so glad we arent hurt or anything.

[Capn]

A shooting in the parking lot of Angel Stadium of Anaheim sent two people to the hospital late Wednesday, according to the Anaheim Fire Department.
===
Two men. One officer = 3 people to the hospital.

[ontrial]

Seems as though these two hooligans hit the wrong guy on top of the head!

[Jeremy]

Hell ya.
That's what I like to hear. You mess with a man when his family is around and you get sent to hell. This is why I carry a concealed. These two men deserve to die. Case closed

[Jeff]

Moral of the story, some people will fight back when attacked and might be better equipped to protect themselves and their family than you.

[Angel's Fan]

I hate when Dodger's fans go to Angel's games. This is what happens! Dodger's fans, GO AWAY!

[H Hilborn]

Good he was equipped to defend himself and his family.
What if It was me and my family?

[Hiphop47]

Another shooting by a cop? This is happening more and more and from what I hear one of the guys that was shot is a marine. How does an off duty cop with his family end up getting into a fight and then shooting two people at a public place?this police officer either already had the intent to shoot someone or just didn't think. In in either case the officer should be held liable.

[pismopal]

Self defense or not..someone will second guess the officer using a firearm..mark my words.

[Jose]

It's called UNDERCOVER OFFICER...Firstly, just look at what these scumbag politicians have have allowed to flood into LA, millions of ignorant Third World illegal aliens...illegal alien GANG CITY becomes ILLEGAL ALIEN GANG FANS.

Of course the ILLEGAL LOVING LA TIMES won't publish my comments

[Jay]

tHIS is why I don't live in California

[steve]

Ok so the 2 guys (probably drunk) probably shouldn't have messed with the officer. BUT YOU CANT JUST SHOOT PEOPLE IN THE HEAD. Dudes a murderer and should be put away.

[SoCalAmy]

Like others have said, the moral of this story is don't screw around with people you're not sure about. The other guy just might have a better weapon. God bless America & our 2nd Amendment Rights.

[Cletus Jenkins]

There are too many criminals in LA. You should take the money that you sink into your baseball team and clean up some of your filth. Your "gangs" are a JOKE (nusiance a best), your PD is a mismanaged beast that caters to the wealthy and powerful and the people of LA suffer for it. You have your priorities in the wrong order. Lame.

[John W]

Hey Jeremy,

Its interesting to note that our high and mighty Orange County Sheriff has made it nearly impossible for citizens to get a permit for concealed carry. Our sheriff rationalizes this by saying its just "not necessary".

Its great that the officer was able to defend his family in a time of need, but just imagine it happening to anyone else.

Oh the irony.

[l.m.]

It is sad that people don't know how to act during games. I do agree people need to be careful with their anger because you don't know who you are messing with. This off-duty officer was with his wife and two kids and was just defending himself.

To Jose (who I assume has a big "nopal" on his forhead), so it would have been okay if the perpetrators were American citizens or do they have to be blue eyed and blonde too?

[J.HDZ]

This country was brought up by illegal "aliens" lmao. If you cant adapt to your environment then move to another place. Some people are still ignorant stereotypical hypocrits. This incident is very unfortuante. Especially if the children saw a man get shot in the head.

[T.G.SMITH]

Sad situation when a man takes his family to a baseball game and has to end the night defending himself and his family. Steve @ 7:20 get your facts straight before you make any comment -- it was 10:30 p.m., he had been hit at least once on the head, and apparently felt both he and his family were threatened. Placement of the shot is not necessarily where he was aiming ... in the dark you shoot at a dark mass, not a specific point. Guy could have been bending over him and he intended to shoot lower. Hiphop47, you also need to get the facts before you spout off. Held liable for what? Defending himself and his family? Geez, people in this state need to rejoin the rest of the universe.

[phil]

Once again, the right to self defense, 24/7, at home, at the park, at the ball game, on vacation or on the job, is granted to a "police officer" only. What makes a police officer so special and so skilled that only he or she may protect themselves under any circumstances and "mere civilians" cannot under any circumstances.

[Matt]

Well he defended himself however he shot them so he should be tried for manslaughter.Unless the unknown object was a knife or bullet then he should pay for that. You cant shoot people for every little thing.

[lolwut]

Whoa, some of you guys are pretty ignorant. First, they said this is ORANGE COUNTY, nothing to do with Los Angeles police or Los Angeles gangs. Secondly, its not like crime and shootings happen solely in Los Angeles. Crime is everywhere. Last, I agree with the CCW comment about citizens being able to protect themselves, but in this case, I don't think weapons would be allowed into the game, regardless of permit or not. Dude's seriously going to catch heat for shooting the thug in the head. YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO TAKE HEAD SHOTS! There is a difference between "I had to stop him" and "This guy needs to die now!"

[Bambi]

Angel fans would have one to believe that all the "negative action" occurs ONLY at Dodger Stadium. We all know thats not true.

[Corey]

For the Idiot who said this is what happens when Dodger fans go to Angel Stad. Where in the article does it say a Dodger fan was involved? Also, the Dodgers werent the home team....the Rockies were. Know your facts before you write. Angels have their thugs too and thats a fact.

[Aletheia Guerrero]

Deadly force seems just a tad bit disproportionate to what allegedly happened to this off duty officer. I would underline "allegedly" since the two other men are dead and we are left with the word of an officer and his family who have every reason to give a self-serving account of events. For me, the description we have of the circumstances around the killing call for some real probing by the OC DA. When a police officer says he was hit in the head by an "unidentified object," it sounds to me like the new version of "I saw a shiny object in his hand" (and the dead child ends up having been holding a Hershey bar with a reflective wrapper).

That said, I was intrigued by those here who applauded the officer and called to be allowed to carry concealed themselves. Frankly, the officer was playing the cowboy. Really, who takes a gun to Angels Stadium? What's the point of that? (And don't justify it with what allegedly happened here. Justify it with what must have been going through the officer's mind when he strapped the thing on as his wife packed the cooler and his kids put on their Angels gear to go off and enjoy a ballgame). God help us if less trained and even more yahoo-ish private citizens (the ones here talk like they'd kill you for a cross glance at their "families") ever get the right to carry concealed in public places in this state.

And a note to the L.A. TImes staff, why can't we get the name of this officer?

[Kevin S]

Artie got his wish. Truely the Los Angeles Angels. Life was so much better when it was the Anaheim or California Angels.