Killing of cop a mystery

Photo: The Canadian Press

Sydney Carlier, foreground, accompanied by roommates, Jenna Brouwer, center and Camille Foder, behind flag, places flowers on a memorial for slain Davis Police Officer Natalie Corona, Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, in Davis, Calif. Corona, 22, who had been on the job only a few weeks, was shot and killed, Thursday, by a suspect who opened fire as she was investigating a three-car crash. The suspect was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot, following a standoff with officers.

A gunman on a bicycle ambushed a rookie policewoman in Northern California, shooting her from the shadows, then reloaded and narrowly avoided wounding others before walking home and calmly watching the chaos he had caused, police said.

The man who gunned down Officer Natalie Corona in this small college town on Thursday night later killed himself in a house, but police still don't know the motive for the attack, Police Chief Darren Pytel said Friday.

The man's name was not released.

Corona, 22, died within minutes of arriving at the scene of a three-car accident. She was shot in the neck and then several other times as she lay on the ground.

"We're speculating that she never even saw him," Pytel said.

Christian Pascual, 25, was one of the drivers involved in the crash. He had handed Corona his license and she was returning it when he heard shots from close behind his right shoulder.

"The person was behind me," he told the Sacramento Bee.

"When I looked up and I saw the officer on the ground, he was already walking due west ... just shooting at what looked like random people to me," Pascual added.

The gunman sprayed bullets at a firetruck, a passing bus and a house, pausing to reload. Nobody else was wounded, although a firefighter at the scene was struck in a boot as he ran and a girl later found a bullet lodged in a textbook in her backpack, the police chief said.

Shaun Kingston, 39, saw the gunman shoot at the firetruck, "dump a clip and put another one in," and begin calmly walking away until Kingston, who followed at a distance, lost him in the crowd.

"He was just calm, cool and collected about it," he said. "It was pretty damn disturbing seeing someone do that and just walk away."

Police had had previous contact with the man, but nothing suspicious or indicating he had mental issues, the chief said. Last year, the man reported being a victim of a crime, he said.

The chief said that after the shooting, the killer "basically circled the block and went home."

At the rental home a few blocks away, he casually chatted and hung out with his roommate.

"He didn't show any sign that he was involved in the incident," Pytel said, and even went outside to watch as police from around the region began rushing to the shooting scene.

The gunman left behind a backpack that helped police track him to the house. The chief said as police began to surround it, he stepped outside wearing a bulletproof vest.

"He shouted some stuff, went back in and came back out with a firearm, then went back inside, pushed a couch in front of the door and officers heard a gunshot," Pytel said.

Police eventually sent a robotic camera in and found the shooter had shot himself in the head.

Police never fired, he said. They found two semi-automatic handguns in the home.

The shooting devastated the Davis Police Department, which has about 60 sworn officers and about 30 other employees. Corona was the first officer in the department to die in the line of duty since 1959. She had only been patrolling solo for about two weeks, the chief said.

From the janitor to the police chief, Corona "just wanted to be everybody's friend, and was," the chief said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statement Friday saying the officer died "protecting her community from harm."

A candlelight vigil for the slain officer was scheduled Saturday night.

The attack occurred in a residential neighbourhood up the street from a park that hosts a weekend farmer's market. Residents placed flowers at a growing memorial outside the police department Friday, where flags flew at half-staff.

Corona's colleagues, family and friends mourned a vibrant life that was cut short.

"She was the best of us," said Davis officer Mike Yu, after placing a "Blue Lives Matter" flag at the crime scene, about a mile from the police station.