Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Executed in Palmdale Saturday Afternoon 9.16.23

In a press conference at 11:15 pm Saturday night, LASD Sheriff Robert Luna said that a 30 year old Sheriff's deputy was murdered in uniform and in his car. The murder took place on Sierra Highway in Palmdale, at approximately 6 pm PST.

Luna said he believed the murder was a targeted act. He said there might be a security camera footage of the shooting. He specifically referred to video circulating on social media. He did not put out a description of the vehicle on the video, or of a suspect.

Luna said "the best crime lab in the country" was working on identifying a suspect, and that further details would be made available. "We will catch this guy," Luna pledged.

He said Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer had just left the station before the shooting. He said that the dying deputy was located by a good Samaritan, who called 911. Clinkunbroomer was transported to Antelope Valley Medical Center, where he died of his wounds.

Clinkunbroomer had proposed to his fiancee just 4 days before his death, and had been with the department for 8 years, where he was a field training officer. He said Clinkunbroomer's father and grandfather had also been LASD Sheriff's deputies. "Just about everybody worked with his father. This adds more pain. To have someone who loves this profession lose him like this, it adds more pain to it."

"As the mayor of Palmdale," said Laura Bettencourt "we have to report that another life was senselessly taken. Palmdale loves the sheriff's deputies. The person that caused this is a coward and they will be caught," she said, echoing a promise Luna made.

The deputy was found “in medical distress” inside his vehicle at the intersection of Avenue Q and Sierra Highway around 6 p.m., said LATimes.com. Afterward, he was rushed to a Lancaster hospital in critical condition.

The shooting is being treated as a crime, a department official said. Authorities said that any witnesses should contact homicide detectives.