Suspect held in shooting of San Bernardino County deputy

A San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy about to serve an eviction notice was wounded in the face and arm Tuesday morning in a drive-by shooting that authorities characterized as an ambush.

The veteran deputy was hospitalized in good condition at Loma Linda University Medical Center and is expected to survive, authorities said.

A San Bernardino police sergeant spotted the suspected gunman’s car a quarter of a mile away from the shooting scene. The driver was taken into custody after a short foot chase. The man, whose name was not immediately released, was arrested late Tuesday on suspicion of attempted murder on a deputy, authorities said.

The incident began shortly after 10 a.m. The deputy and a colleague arrived in separate marked sheriff’s cruisers. They were sitting in their parked vehicles near an apartment building in the 1400 block of East Date Street, where they were about to serve the eviction notice.

The gunman drove by in a gray sedan and opened fire, sending several shots into one of the cruisers and wounding the deputy inside, said Jodi Miller, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.

The deputies immediately returned fire, striking the shooter’s car, according to San Bernardino police Lt. Paul Williams. He said that officers and deputies from multiple agencies flooded the area and that the suspect was taken into custody after being spotted by a San Bernardino police sergeant at 21st Street and Elmwood Road.

When police tried to detain the suspect, the man fled and tossed some items over a wall before officers were able to detain him, Williams said.

The man’s car had been hit by several gunshots from the deputies’ weapons, Williams said.

The motive for the ambush is unclear, but authorities are continuing to question the suspect. Miller said it was unknown whether the shooting was related to the eviction.

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