LAPD Officers who gunned down woman, 71, with NO WARNING as they hunted for killer cop face investigation

A 71-year-old woman delivering newspapers early on Thursday morning was among the people shot at by Los Angeles police during the manhunt for suspected killer ex-cop Christopher Dorner.

The victim, Emma Hernandez, said the officers did not give any warning or commands and just began firing at her blue pickup truck, according to her attorney. Her 47-year-old daughter was a passenger in the car at the time.

'Tragically, we believe this is a case of mistaken identity,' Charlie Beck, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, said about the incident.

Hernandez was shot in the back and was hospitalized in stable condition. Her daughter, Margie Carranza, was a passenger in the truck at the time of the shooting. She was wounded by glass from the shattered window.

The two women were distributing copies of the Los Angeles Times before the terrifying incident.

The police gunfire came from officers who were protecting a department captain and his family who had been included on the fugitive's hit list.

Dorner, who is wanted in connection to three homicides, has been described as 'armed and extremely dangerous' and residents have been told to be vigilant and report any sightings.


On Friday, police put the area of Big Bear about 100 miles from Los Angeles, on lockdown as they searched the alleged shooter.

Police bloodhounds and heavily-armed SWAT officers in combat fatigues tracked a set of footprints in the snow and 125 cops checked every home in the community of about 400.

It's been more than a day since there's been a confirmed sighting, leading investigators to worry Dorner is far away from California.

Hernandez was driving a pickup truck at 5:30am, which police mistook it for the vehicle that belonged to Dorner and the officers began firing bullets into the blue truck.

Just moments after the first shooting at around 5:45am, police located another pickup truck, which was a dark color, and began shooting at it.

A male passenger inside the truck was not hit.

Hernandez and her daughter are expected to recover from their injuries but have retained an attorney.

'There was no warning, there was no orders or no commands… just gunshots,' Jonas told KTLA-TV.

Their attorney said that the blue truck was 'the wrong color and the wrong model' compared to the description of Dorner's car.

He accused police of not taking 'the time to notice that these two older, small Latina women didn’t look like a large black man.'

'We trust that the LAPD will step up and do the right thing and acknowledge that what they did was unacceptable and we'll deal with it,' Jonas said.

Dorner is wanted in connection to three homicides.

He could be anywhere at this point,' San Bernadino County Sheriff John McMahon said.

Police admit Dorner is highly trained and well-versed in their tactics and he has promised 'to bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty.'

Dorner is presumed to be armed with multiple weapons, including an assault rifle, although his manifesto suggests he may be more heavily armed - possibly even with rocket launchers.

'Do not deploy airships or gunships. SA-7 Manpads will be waiting,' he said in his manifesto, referencing a Russian-made shoulder-launched missile launcher.

Dorner, who received medals for his service during the Iraq war, also earned accolades for his shooting skills.

He earned a rifle marksman ribbon and pistol expert medal, CBS reported.

He was also deployed to Bahrain and Kuwait in 2006 and 2007 as part of the Naval reserve.

On Sunday he allegedly murdered the daughter and future son-in-law of former LAPD Captain Randy Quan, who defended him at the disciplinary hearing where he was expelled from the police force.

Then on Thursday he launched a shooting spree, that claimed the life of a 34-year-old police trainer with 11-years on the force.

Hell raising actor Charlie Sheen has urged the fugitive former LAPD to contact him.

Dorner had mentioned Sheen along with a number of other celebrities in his online manifesto which also indicates his intentions to kill more people.

In the manifesto, Dorner wrote: ‘Charlie Sheen, you’re effin awesome.’

In a 17-second video message posted on Saturday on the TMZ website, Sheen seems to suggest that he is willing to mediate between Dorner and the police.

Dressed in a black shirt and speaking in short, direct sentences Sheen thanks Dorner for his 'kind words' and then asks the man to call him.

'Let's figure out together how to end this thing,' Sheen is recorded saying.

The LAPD haven’t commented on Sheen's message about the man who Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has warned citizens is a 'sick individual.'