An off-duty officer with the Los Angeles Police Department was arrested Sunday on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly shooting and wounding another officer during a camping trip in the California desert.
Three off-duty officers were camping, drinking and shooting at the Stoddard Wells Off-Highway Vehicle Area late late Saturday when one of the officers was struck by a single round, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, which is investigating the incident.
The wounded officer was airlifted to a trauma center and was expected to recover, sheriff’s officials said.
Ishmail Tamayo was arrested for investigation of attempted murder, sheriff’s officials said, and the LAPD said in a statement that he was in possession of a firearm at the time of his arrest.
“For reasons still under investigation, Ishmail Tamayo shot the victim, striking him in the upper body,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement.
Tamayo is assigned to the LAPD’s Newton Division, just south of downtown Los Angeles, the LAPD said.
“The events overnight culminating in the serious injury to our off-duty officer apparently at the hands of another member of this Department, give me great concern, “LAPD Chief Michel Moore said in a statement. “… I am committed to determining what and how this occurred.”