10:01am | Doctors said earlier today that the Los Angles Police Department officer shot Monday during a standoff in Sylmar remains in critical but stable condition and is expected to live.
Officer Steven Jenkins, a Long Beach resident and 22-year veteran of the LAPD, sustained two gunshot wounds, one to the jaw and another that entered through his shoulder and tore into his chest. The latter bullet broek several ribs, damagied several large blood vessels and punctured one of his lungs, Dr. Bradly Roth of Providence Holy Cross Medical Center told 89.33 KPCV radio.
Roth, a trauma surgeon, said the bullet that entered through Jenkins’ shoulder resulted in “quite a bit of blood in his chest.” The trauma surgeon also said Jenkins will need additional surgeries to repair his jaw.
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck described Jenkins, who is assigned to the department’s K-9 unit, as “highly trained” and “very specialized.”
Several of Jenkins’ fellow officers, including his partner, donated blood, to help save his life, the Associated Press reported.
Jenkins, who graduated from St. Anthony High School, was shot at about 2 a.m. Monday during a nightlong standoff at a home that police responded to Sunday night after a woman called 911 to report that her husband had beaten her.
The standoff with Sergio Salazar, who is suspected of shooting Jenkins, went on for about 12 hours, with armored LAPD officers and L.A. County Sheriff’s deputies surrounding the home.
At about 10 a.m. Monday, officers unsuccessfully used tear gas to try and drive the suspect out of the home. They also used a machine that looks similar to a forklift with an extendable arm to rip off parts of the home’s second floor so that officers could track Salazar’s movements throughout the home, according to the AP.
Some time after officers and Salazar again traded gunfire, Salazar was found dead in the home. It was not clear if he had been killed by police gunfire or if he had taken his own life.
No other officers were injured.
Both Jenkins’ wife, Beth, and son also work for the LAPD, where his wife is a sergeant, the AP reported.