UPDATE @ 9:20 p.m.: A six-day manhunt for a fired Los Angeles police officer suspected in the slayings of two people in Irvine and a Riverside police officer came to a head today in Big Bear, where he allegedly stole a car then shot and killed a sheriff’s deputy in a raging gun battle while barricaded in a cabin that later burned to the ground.
It was unclear if 33-year-old Christopher Jordan Dorner died in the inferno that engulfed the cabin on Seven Oaks Road just off Highway 38 shortly before 4:30 p.m. The cabin was still burning two hours later.
“Law enforcement officers on scene have not been able to enter the cabin,” San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Cindy Bachman said around 8:35 p.m. “It is too hot. It is still smoldering. It is not safe for them to enter.”
Bachman said she could not say when it would be safe for officers to enter the cabin.
Bachman earlier said investigators had reason to believe the person holed up in the cabin was Dorner. By about 6:30 p.m., multiple media outlets reported that a body believed to be Dorner had been recovered inside the burned- out cabin, although law enforcement officials had not confirmed the discovery.
“Any reports of a body being found are not true,” LAPD Cmdr. Andy Smith said around 8 p.m. “Any reports of that body being identified as Christopher Dorner are not true.”
UPDATE @ 4:45 p.m.: KCAL9 is reporting that the Big Bear cabin in which murder suspect Christopher Dorner is allegedly holed up is on fire. The station reported that some tear gas canisters had been fired into the cabin.
UPDATE @ 3:57 p.m.: Various media reports have indicated that a San Bernardino Sheriff’s deputy has succumbed to injuries he received after an exchange of gunfire with the suspect.
In a press conference held by LAPD officials, Commander Andrew Smith did not confirm that the suspect was ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner and suggested that police continue to check out all reports and leads.
Smith indicated that media outlets have been asked to no longer show live footage of the scene in the event that the suspect is viewing police tactics on television.
Additionally, Caltrans has closed state Routes 18 (front and back), 330 and 38 into the San Bernardino Mountains because of the search for Christopher Dorner in the Big Bear area.
Highway 138 has been reopened east of Interstate 15, after being closed earlier. Motorists are being allowed to drive out of the area, but they are subject to search, according to Terri Kasinga of Caltrans.
UPDATE @ 1:43 p.m.: Law enforcement authorities are apparently engaged in a gun battle with triple-murder suspect Christopher Dorner just off Highway 38 near Seven Oaks Road in the Big Bear area.
UPDATE @ 1:24 p.m.: The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department has broadcast a general advisory stating that fugitive murder suspect Christopher Jordan Dorner was possibly involved in a home-invasion robbery at 1274 Club View Road in Big Bear.
Christopher Dorner
A couple were tied up in their house, and the suspect fled in their 2008 white Dodge pickup truck with a back hitch, heading south on state Route 38, possibly toward Cherry Valley.
A state Fish & Game ranger apparently fired on the vehicle, according to the sheriff’s broadcast.
Scanner traffic suggests that two officers have been hit.
ORIGINAL: Various media outlets from San Bernardino County are reporting a possible sighting of triple-murder suspect Christopher Dorner in the Big Bear area.
Some reports indicate that a woman was tied up in a home and a pickup truck was stolen.
KCAL9 says there are UNCONFIRMED reports that Dorner may have been taken into custody.
This is a developing story. Stay with SWRNN for more details as they come available.
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