Man, 26, Accused Of Killing 2 Palm Springs Officers, Wounding Another In Custody

PALM SPRINGS (CBSLA.com) — A 26-year-old man suspected of fatally shooting two Palm Springs officers and wounding a third was taken into custody overnight Sunday.

The suspect, identified by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department as John Felix, was taken into custody after a long standoff with police.

He surrendered after suffering non-life-threatening injuries.

Felix is accused of gunning down three officers who were answering a domestic disturbance call Saturday afternoon.

Police say Felix shot at four officers as they arrived at the home, where a woman called for help.

Juan Gracieno watched as police tried to save one of their own.

"And I saw the police woman in the trunk of a car and then the other two police took her out of the trunk and put them on the ground and started doing CPR,"

That officer was identified as Lesley Zerebny, who recently came back to work after giving birth just four months ago.

"So here we have a wonderful, young, dedicated female officer that pressed forward every day to make it better for everyone else," said Chief Bryan Reyes of the Palm Springs Police Department.

Zerebny died at a hospital, along with Jose "Gil" Vega, who was a 35-year-old veteran.

"Here he is, 35 years in, still pushing a patrol car for our community to make it better on a day he wasn't even scheduled to work," the police chief said.

A third officer was hit in the gunfire, but is expected to live.

Felix was being booked on two counts of murder on a police officer, authorities said.