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Dorner stopped visiting ex-wife’s home months ago, neighbor says

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A neighbor of the ex-wife of Christopher Jordan Dorner, the former LAPD officer accused of killing three people, said he often saw the suspect at the woman’s Long Beach home.

‘I’ve seen him here. I’ve said hi, I’ve bumped [fists] with him a couple times,’ said 24-year-old Oscar Gonzalez.

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‘He seemed like a regular guy. He was doing landscaping here in the front for her. He was heavy-built, always in military-style boots,’ Gonzalez said.

Dorner frequently visited -- until the end of last year.

PHOTOS: Manhunt for ex-LAPD officer

“He was here for a while, and then he was just gone. It just kind of stopped all of the sudden, two or three months ago,” Gonzalez said.

Other neighbors with a less favorable view of the ex-wife were not so forthcoming and worried for their safety if they spoke up about Dorner, who is the subject of a massive manhunt.

“I don’t want to give out my name with this ... guy on the loose,’ one neighbor said. ‘I don’t want to be the next victim.”

PHOTOS: A fugitive’s life on Facebook

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Dorner, who was fired from the LAPD in 2008, is suspected of shooting three police officers, one of whom died, in Riverside County early Thursday.

He also is suspected of shooting and killing a couple in Orange County earlier this week who were found in a car in the parking lot of their apartment building. One of the victims was the daughter of a former LAPD captain named in an online manifesto that authorities said they believe was posted on Dorner’s Facebook page.

Dorner is believed to be carrying multiple weapons, including an assault rifle.

INTERACTIVE MAP: Searching for suspected shooter

Law enforcement authorities said they were concerned about Dorner’s military background and weapons training. The lengthy online message allegedly written by the former Navy Reserve lieutenant threatened ‘unconventional and asymmetrical warfare’ against police. Dorner received awards for his expertise with a rifle and pistol, according to military records obtained by The Times. He received an Iraq Campaign Medal and was a member of an undersea warfare unit.

Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz, calling the attack on his officers a ‘cowardly ambush,’ said Dorner is suspected of opening fire with a rifle about 1:30 a.m. Thursday as he pulled up next to a patrol car waiting at a traffic light. DOCUMENT: Read the manifesto

The attack was carried out about 20 minutes after Dorner wounded an LAPD officer in a shooting in nearby Corona, police said.

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-- Seema Mehta in Long Beach and Ari Bloomekatz

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