Police arrested known gang member John Felix in the killing of two Palm Springs police officers Saturday afternoon.
Felix, 26, was captured alive around 12:50 a.m. Sunday morning after a standoff with police lasting 12 hours, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. He is accused of two counts of murder of a peace officer.
Felix was previously sentenced to four years in prison for a 2009 attempted murder plot in which he confessed to assault with a firearm. He was also arrested in 2013 for fighting with police on the same doorstep where Saturday’s shooting occurred.
Two police officers were killed and one was wounded in what witnesses described as heavy and sustained gunfire in Palm Springs on Saturday. Felix allegedly shot the three police officers through the closed from door of his house, then barricaded himself in his house and exchanged even more gunfire with officers who responded to the initial shooting.
The shooting plunged Palm Springs into mourning and set off a hunt for the gunman. Investigators remained at the scene of the crime into Sunday morning, calling for Felix to come out of the house. Eventually, Felix was taken into custody peacefully and transported to a nearby hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries, according to a press release from the sheriff's department.
A press conference outlining more details of the arrest will be held 11 a.m. on Sunday outside the Palm Springs Police Department. Felix is being booked at the Riverside jail. His mug shot was not available as of early Sunday morning.
Felix allegedly told his father he wanted to kill cops moments before the gunfire began.
Frances Serrano, who lives directly across the street from where the shooting took place Saturday, spoke to Felix's father moments before the bloodshed. The father told Serrano that his son had a gun and wanted to shoot police officers.
“He came over and asked for help,” she said.
Serrano called the police and the father walked back toward his house. Soon after, Serrano heard gunshots.
"Today Palm Springs lost two brave officers," Palm Springs Police Chief Bryan Reyes said at a news conference, his voice shaking with emotion. "I am awake in a nightmare right now."
The slain police were Jose Gilbert “Gil” Vega and Lesley Zerebny. They were the first Palm Springs police officers to die in the line of duty since 1962.
Vega was a 35-year veteran who was due to retire in December and had chosen to work overtime on Saturday, Reyes said. Zerebny, 27, had just given birth to a baby girl four months ago. She had been with the department for a year and a half.