Wife of cop killer Justin Flores says she tried to warn police

• The wife of Justin Flores, who killed two police officers, said she tried to warn authorities before the shooting.
• The shooting occurred inside a motel in Los Angeles, California.
• “I am so deeply sorry, my deepest condolences for saving me, I’m so, so, so sorry,” said the woman.

The wife of a man who killed two Southern California police officers in a shooting Tuesday told a television station that her husband had previously attacked her. She said she warned officers that he had a gun inside a motel room in Los Angeles, California, according to The Associated Press.

The gunman, identified as Justin William Flores, was shot and killed at the scene. His wife told KCBS-TV that he had attacked her two days ago and that she had moved into the motel to escape him, but he tracked her down.

Wife bursts into tears describing what happened before the shooting

“I am so deeply sorry, my deepest condolences for saving me, I’m so, so, so sorry,” Diana Flores told the television station in tears. “They didn’t deserve that, or their families. They really didn’t. They were trying to help me and I told them before they went in the room, ‘Don’t go in. He has a gun.’” To see Diana Flores’ statements click HERE.

Officers Michael Paredes and Joseph Santana, who were identified Wednesday, June 15, were killed while investigating a possible stabbing at a motel in El Monte, California. Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the flags at the state Capitol will fly at half-staff in their honor.

Justin William Flores was on probation

Justin William Flores was on probation on a gun charge at the time of the shooting, which occurred a day after his probation officer requested that he return to court at the end of the month, court records show. The coroner’s office has not yet released the suspect’s name, but the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office identified Flores to The Associated Press.

On Wednesday, mourners left bouquets, wreaths and candles in front of the El Monte Police Station to honor fallen officers. “Corporal Paredes and Officer Santana paid the ultimate sacrifice,” the City of El Monte wrote in a press release, “while pursuing a noble profession, serving the community they loved.”

“Do not enter. He has a gun”

Flores, 35, served two terms in state prison for burglary and motor vehicle theft, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and was last released in 2012. In March 2020, Flores was arrested and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and for possession of narcotics for personal use. He pleaded guilty last year to being a felon in possession of a firearm, a felony charge that could have sent him back to prison for three years.

Instead, Justin William Flores was sentenced to two years probation and 20 days in jail. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, who is facing an impeachment effort for his progressive policies, faces criticism over the deal with Flores. «The sentence he received in the firearm case was consistent with case resolutions for this type of offense given his criminal history and the nature of the offense,» the DA’s office said in a statement Wednesday. «At the time the court sentenced him, Mr. Flores did not have a documented history of violence.»

How did the shooting happen?

Few details about what happened during Tuesday’s incident have been released. Officers went to the Siesta Inn in El Monte, east of Los Angeles, around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday for a welfare check where a woman had possibly been stabbed.

Officers «engaged the suspect,» Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Capt. Andrew Meyer said Tuesday. Gunfire erupted inside a motel room and the gunman then fled into the parking lot, where more gunfire was exchanged, Meyer said. Meyer said investigators were interviewing a woman at the hotel who they believe was the suspect’s girlfriend. Diana Flores, who described herself as the suspect’s wife and had his name tattooed on her chest, told KCBS that officers must have been reacting to a «false call» because she had not been stabbed on Tuesday.

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