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UPDATED: Search for Former LAPD Officer Focuses on Big Bear

The gunman is the suspect in an Irvine double-homicide and two shootings early morning Thursday that left one Riverside police officer dead. 

Former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner is still at large. (CHP)
Former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner is still at large. (CHP)

UPDATE | 6:40 p.m. 

The search for Christopher Jordan Dorner continued late Thursday as local, state and federal officials marshalled resources to locate the former L.A.P.D. officer. Dorner is the murderer of a Riverside police officer and the suspected murderer of a couple found dead Sunday night in an Irvine parking lot.

The investigation is currently focusing on the Big Bear area, where Dorner's Nissan truck was found burning at approximately 2:30 p.m. Soon after, a lockdown of the resort town began in earnest: the Big Bear ski area was shutdown; schools went on lockdown; and officials traveled door-to-door. Multiple media outlets report that police are trailing fresh footprints in the snow in the hopes of finding Dorner.

The search for Dorner has involved multiple counties in southern California since Wednesday. San Diego police said Dorner's wallet was discovered along Harbor Drive and turned in early Thursday morning.  L.A.P.D. Chief Charlie Beck said Dorner tried but failed to steal a boat from a man in San Diego County on Wednesday, while police in Torrance, in L.A. County, opened fire at two Nissan trucks that resembled the description of Dorner's - although the drivers of each turned out not to be Dorner.

The search took a more sensational turn when at 3:00 p.m., CNN journalist Anderson Cooper tweeted that he received a package from Dorner. From Cooper's Twitter handle @andersoncooper: "Learned today suspect Christopher Dorner sent me a parcel at CNN. Inside was a note, DVD, and a coin shot thru with bullet holes." 

Government officials in Los Angeles and neighboring counties have issued statements targeting both short- and long-term responses to Dorner's alleged murders and subsequent manhunt.

Sheriff deputies in Orange County were paired with a partner beginning at 6 p.m. tonight, according to Kimberly Edds, spokeswoman for the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs. Deputies will patrol in pairs for the duration of the search for Christopher Dorner.

Mayor Villaraigosa described fired L.A.P.D. officer Christopher Dorner as "a sick individual" whose violence was unjustified. Villaraigosa delivered his remarks from Sacramento, where he was present to introduce anti-gun violence legislation.

City Councilmember Mitch Englander said officials will investigate whether Dorner exhibited any signs of mental illness at the time of his firing from the L.A.P.D. 2008. Englander said officials will review Dorner's exit interview and determine whether he had made prior violent threats.

UPDATE | 10:25 a.m. In a press conference, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck called Dorner's slayings "a vendetta against all Los Angeles law enforcement."  

In an appeal to Dorner, Beck pleaded: "Turn yourself in. This has gone far enough. No one else needs to die."

If anyone has any information on Dorner and his whereabouts, contact LAPD's Robbery and Homicide Department at (213)-486-6860. If you are to see Dorner, immediately call 911. 

ORIGINAL STORY | 9:00 a.m.Police are searching for a former LAPD officer who is suspected of going on a killing spree across Southern California, killing three people.

Christopher Jordan Doner is suspected to have slayed a couple, including a former USC DPS officer, Keith Lawrence, and an LAPD officer early morning Thursday in Riverside County.

Police say Dorner is still on the loose, and they believe he has left the area. In Corona, two LAPD officers were shot at, only one was grazed. In the city of Riverside, two LAPD officers were ambushed two more LAPD members in their patrol cars while sitting at a stoplight; one officer died and the other is in surgery.

Irvine Police Chief David L. Maggard identified Dorner as black, 6 feet tall and weighs 270 pounds.

The Irvine Police Department says he has been driving a gray 2005 Nissan Titan pickup with a roof rack, bed cover and aftermarket wheels, (possibly black/chrome). His vehicle plate has been changed from 7X03191 to a California license plate# 8D83997 or similar.   

Dorner's suspected vehicle is a gray Nissan Titan with license plate # 8D83987. (Irvine Police Department)
Dorner's suspected vehicle is a gray Nissan Titan with license plate # 8D83987. (Irvine Police Department)

Dorner was fired from the LAPD in 2008 for making false statements. 

Chief Maggard said at a news conference Wednesday night that Dorner identified himself in the Irvine killings with a multi-page "manifesto."

READ: Chris Dorner's full manifesto

Dorner wrote, "I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty."

He called the attacks against police "a necessary evil that I do not enjoy but must partake and complete for substantial change to occur within the LAPD and reclaim my name." 

A badge and an identification card belonging to Dorner were found near the San Diego airport Thursday morning. 

LAPD is holding a press conference at 11 a.m in Riverside. 


COMMENTS

Woe to them that call evil good, an good evil; that put darkness for light, an light for darkness...Woe unto them that are wise in their own ayes, and prudent in their own sight!!!

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