This undated photo provided by the Newman Police Department shows officer Ronil Singh of Newman Police Department who was killed by an unidentified suspect. The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department said Singh was conducting a traffic stop early Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2018, in the town of Newman, Calif. when he called out “shots fired” over his radio. (Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department via AP)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – A gunman who killed a California police officer during a traffic stop over possible drunken driving is in the United States illegally, authorities said Thursday, as a manhunt for the attacker stretched into a second day.
Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson said authorities identified but won’t yet name the man who killed Cpl. Ronil Singh of the small-town Newman Police Department. Authorities said they believe he’s still in the area some 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco and is armed and dangerous.
“This suspect … is in our country illegally. He doesn’t belong here. He is a criminal,” Christianson, whose agency is leading the investigation, told reporters.
Newman Police Chief Randy Richardson fought back tears as he described Singh, a 33-year-old native of Fiji with a newborn son, as an “American patriot.”
“He came to America with one purpose, and that was to serve this country,” Richardson said.