Compton neighbors react to deadly shooting
COMPTON, Calif. - A deputy-involved shooting in Compton turned deadly Thursday morning.
Investigators who were trying to serve a search warrant were met with gunfire as they approached the house. By the time it was over, a suspect was dead, a garage burned to the ground, and the bomb squad was checking out suspicious items.
Residents living on South Bradfield Ave. woke up to the sound of gunshots.
“It doesn’t even shock us anymore cause we wake up to this,” said one resident.
But it wasn’t the dozens of shots that surprised them or the fire engulfing a garage. Neither was it the sound of sirens, the yellow tape, even the bomb squad arriving. It was the way it all looked under the fog like haze of fire smoke that engulfed neighborhoods all over the area.
“It was like a zombie movie” said one resident, "eerie, like crazy! Other than that, we are used to this.”
“We shouldn’t be used to this, but we are” says another resident, adding “that’s the saddest thing about all this.”
After ten hours of yellow tape surrounding several blocks of the neighborhood, residents watched the events unfold in front of them. The deputy-involved shooting resulted in the death of a neighbor.
RELATED: Suspect killed after deputies reportedly return fire in Compton shooting
Officials say as deputies walked up to the house to serve a warrant for weapons and narcotics violation they were immediately fired upon by the suspects. The suspect then ran into the garage and set it on fire; officials say the gunfire continued.
Luckily, the entire house didn’t burn down, with the family that lives there, watching on as bullets whizzed by between deputies and the suspect who was killed.
Residents living in the area were hoping they would not be evacuated. A strong smell of gas filled the area as they watched bomb squad officials gear up to check a suspicious item in front of the house.
During their investigation the suspicious item was deemed not dangerous and the bomb squad left the scene.
The suspect was only described as a man in his 20’s.
Neighbor say it was just another day as the burnt smell from the destroyed garage mixed with the ashy air from the foothill fires. It does have the feeling of a movie, a very scary and sad one.