STUDIO CITY—On Tuesday, June 14, 2022, the suspect who allegedly shot and critically injured a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer was taken into custody. The suspect has been identified as 33-year-old, Pejhmaun Iraj Khosroabadi.
The search for the suspect began following a traffic stop gone wrong on Monday, June 13, at approximately 8:00 p.m. CHP officers attempted to stop Khosroabadj at the intersection of Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Lindale Street. The suspect initially refused to pull over.
Kosroabadj and the CHP officers pulled into the parking lot of a local private school for K-12th grade, Campbell Hall Episcopal School. Reports indicate that the suspect, who was visibly agitated, got out of his car, pulled out a gun, and shot several rounds of ammunition hitting the officer several times before fleeing the scene.
The Special Weapons And Tactics Team (S.W.A.T.) surrounded a nearby apartment building attempting to lure the suspect out
Khosroabadj was found with the assistance of a K-9 officer who tracked him by the scent of blood left at the scene of the crime. He was in a tent that he stayed in for the night with some of the homeless on Gloria Avenue in Van Nuys.
Officers released the other individuals who were in the tent with the suspect after questioning them. One of the tent residents, Deric Lewis, told police that Khosroabadj told them that he was a military veteran and admitted to shooting the policeman.
“He kept saying, ‘I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead,’ but I’m sure he’s experiencing some kind of PTSD,” Lewis told reporters from Eyewitness News.
The 26-year-old officer was critically injured. The name of the officer has not been released. According to CHP officer, Ramberto Salcido, the injured officer was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Cedars-Sinai Hospital but was, “expected to survive.”
California Highway Patrol Commissioner, Amanda Ray, sent out a Tweet on Thursday, June 15, recalling the loss of two officers and an attack on a third.
The family of Pejhmaun Khosroabadj publicly apologized for the actions of “PJ” and indicated that they hoped that he could now get the help he needed.
