Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced Wednesday evening that Deputy Joseph Solano, who was shot in the head at an Alhambra Jack in the Box restaurant on Monday afternoon, has died.
The announcement came after Solano spent the last two days on life support. He was surrounded by his family and close friends while he passed, Villanueva said at a press conference outside the County-USC Medical Center.
“Knowing that Deputy Solano did what we can expect every deputy to do, he confronted a threat, not knowing what it was and in a split second, he lost his life,” Villanueva said.
Members of Solano’s family spoke at the conference, with his son, Matthew, calling him a “really good Dad.”
Solano’s stepdaughter, Jessica, said through tears, “Not only did I lose my father figure, but I lost my best friend.”
She asked those listening to not forget Solano and to “continue his legacy.”
Investigators believe the shooting was a random attack. The suspect, Rhett Nelson is also suspected in another shooting that left a 30-year-old man dead in downtown Los Angeles, as well as four armed robberies in San Diego County.
Long Beach police detained the 30-year-old Nelson, of St. George, Utah, around 10:40 a.m. Tuesday in the 2400 block of Granada Avenue in Long Beach. Nelson made a phone call to his father from First Nazarene Church on Clark Avenue, reportedly telling him about two shootings. His father called police, who later turned him over to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigators who arrested him.
He is being held in lieu of a $2 million bail.