3 California Highway Patrol officers shot, 1 killed in gun battle during freeway traffic stop

A shootout near a freeway killed a California Highway Patrol officer and wounded two others Monday evening before the gunman was fatally shot, authorities said.

A CHP officer had pulled over a white pickup truck at about 5:30 p.m. on a road just off Interstate 215 east of Los Angeles, Riverside police spokesman Ryan Railsback said. He didn’t immediately know why the car was stopped.

The CHP decided to impound the truck and a tow had been called when the driver reached into the back of his pickup – apparently to retrieve personal items – but instead grabbed a rifle and opened fire, authorities said.

One CHP officer was shot, followed by two others, Railsback said.

Video showed one officer being taken away in a police car. Another was taken to the hospital by helicopter.

The CHP later tweeted that one officer had died. There was no immediate word on the conditions of the other officers.

Family members identified the officer as 33-year-old Andre Moye, Jr., who was married and had been with the CHP about four years, KABC-TV reported.

Riverside police and Riverside County sheriff’s deputies also were called and more gunfire erupted as the gunman took cover in front of his car. He was wounded and pronounced dead at a hospital, authorities said.

Someone in another car was hit by flying glass that caused minor injuries, Railsback said.

Jennifer Moctezuma, 31, of Moreno Valley told the Los Angeles Times that she was driving home with her 6-year-old twins when a bullet flew through her front windshield.

Charles Childress, 56, a retired Marine from Moreno Valley, was in the car behind her.

He led the family as they crawled to the bottom of a bridge to hide and none were harmed, the Times reported.

“He’s my hero,” Moctezuma said.

Video from the scene shows bullet holes in the front windows of two patrol cars and large holes blown in their back windows. What appeared to be an assault-style rifle was on the ground.