Slain California Officer Had ‘Dream Job’

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) – The Latest on a shootout that killed a California Highway Patrol officer and a gunman (all times local):

1:30 p.m.

An official says the California Highway Patrol officer killed in a shootout following a traffic stop was working his dream job.

Investigators say CHP Officer Andre Moye, Jr. was killed Monday night by a man whose truck he was impounding in Riverside, east of Los Angeles. The suspect also died after the exchange of gunfire that officials say lasted several minutes. Authorities haven’t identified a motive.

CHP Chief Bill Dance said at a Tuesday press conference that Moye was an outstanding officer with a devotion to public service. Dance says Moye’s mother told him her son loved going to work because it’s what he always wanted to do.

Dance said two other officers who were shot in the legs are expected to recover.

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12:10 p.m.

Corrections officials say the gunman who fatally shot a California Highway Patrol Officer and wounded two others served 10 years in prison for attempted murder and other felonies.

Jeffrey Callison, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, says Tuesday Aaron Luther began his prison sentence in 1994 and was paroled in April 2004.

Callison says Luther was sentenced to 12 years in prison for attempted second-degree murder and an enhancement for the use of a firearm, as well as burglary charges.

Court records show Luther was arrested in 2007 on felony assault charges and took a no-contest plea deal that sentenced him to 90 days in jail. He also was arrested in 2017 on suspicion of driving while his license was suspended or revoked, records show.

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8:45 a.m.

Police say two California Highway Patrol officers remain hospitalized following a shootout that killed a fellow officer.

Riverside Police Officer Ryan Railsback says Tuesday both officers are expected to survive. Railsback says one officer is in critical condition and one is in serious condition. He did not identify them.

Authorities say CHP Officer Andre Moye, Jr. was killed in the shootout Monday just off a freeway during a traffic stop. Authorities haven’t officially identified the gunman, but his father tells KABC-TV that it was his son, 49-year-old Aaron Luther.

Officials say a CHP officer was doing paperwork to impound the pickup truck when the driver reached in, grabbed a rifle and opened fire, prompting a gun battle.

Police haven’t identified a motive.

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7:30 a.m.

Investigators are still gathering evidence at the scene of a shootout that left a gunman and a California Highway Patrol officer dead and two other officers wounded.

Roads are closed Tuesday in Riverside, east of Los Angeles, where authorities say a man whose truck was being impounded grabbed a rifle and began shooting.

Authorities haven’t officially identified him, but his father tells KABC-TV that the gunman was his son, 49-year-old Aaron Luther. He says his son was a felon who wasn’t allowed to have a gun.

Police haven’t identified a motive.

Officer Andre Moye, Jr. was killed Monday night. Two other officers were wounded, one critically.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered flags at half-staff Tuesday in the state Capitol in honor of the 33-year-old Moye.

His stepmother, Debbie Howard, told reporters that Moye loved his job.

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12:05 a.m.

Authorities say they don’t know why a man whose truck was being impounded suddenly grabbed a rifle and opened fire, killing a California Highway Patrol officer and wounding two others before he was killed.

Other drivers ran for cover and two people were slightly injured as dozens of bullets flew Monday just off a freeway in Riverside, east of Los Angeles.

Authorities say a CHP officer was doing paperwork to impound the pickup truck when the driver reached in, grabbed a rifle and fatally wounded the officer, identified as 33-year-old Andre Moye, Jr.