Off-duty officer shoots 2 in lot after Angels game

[June 25, 2009]  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- An off-duty police officer shot and wounded two men who had assaulted him in the crowded Angel Stadium parking lot after Wednesday night's Colorado Rockies-Los Angeles Angels game, authorities said.

The officer, who was walking to his car with his wife and two small children about 25 minutes after the game, was hit in the head with a bottle or club, police Sgt. Tim Schmidt said.

"We think he was the victim of a crime," Schmidt said.

The off-duty officer then shot the men with his duty weapon, Schmidt said. Police did not immediately identify the officer or the shooting victims.

One man was shot in the head and was in critical condition, the other was shot in the upper arm and in serious but stable condition. The officer also had a serious head wound. All three were taken to hospitals.

No one else in the parking lot was hurt, Schmidt said.

The Orange County District Attorney's office joined the Anaheim Police department in investigating the incident, which is required in officer-involved shootings.

The Angels had beaten the Rockies 11-3 earlier in the evening.

Rachel Cordova was among the startled and confused fans in the parking lot.

"We heard three shots and turned around and I thought, 'Those are gunsshots,'" Cordova told KNX radio. "One of the guys I was with said 'No, it's not,' but then we heard sirens."

Cordova said she then walked toward the scene.

"I left there and saw a young, maybe 20-year-old male laying on the ground without his shirt, and they were attending to him," she said.

[Associated Press]

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