FBI: 53 officers feloniously killed in 2025 as assaults hit 10-year high
Law Enforcement News
FBI: 53 officers feloniously killed in 2025 as assaults hit 10-year high
The FBI released its annual Officers Killed and Assaulted in the Line of Duty report, showing 53 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in 2025, while assaults on officers reached their highest rate in a decade. The report, compiled through the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, includes preliminary national data voluntarily submitted by law enforcement agencies. According to the FBI, firearms were the most commonly used weapons in fatal attacks on officers. The report identified 49 offenders connected to the killings. Most were male (95.7%), more than half were white (64.4%) and nearly 30 had prior criminal records. While officer deaths declined compared to the previous two years, assaults against officers increased. Agencies reported 90,178 assaults in 2025, equating to 13.8 assaults per 100 officers — the highest assault rate recorded in the past 10 years. The South region continued to record the highest number of officer deaths, though fatalities in the region dropped 25% from 2024.
Los Angeles-area law enforcement increase patrols after deadly shooting at Islamic Center of San Diego
Los Angeles-area law enforcement agencies have announced that they will increase patrols around mosques and other houses of worship on Monday after a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego left five people dead, including the two alleged gunmen. The shooting happened in the Clairmont area at around 11:45 a.m. and the two suspects were believed to have been teenagers, San Diego Police Department officials said. They were both found dead from suspected self-inflicted gunshot wounds in a car near the Islamic Center, police added. A security guard at the center was one of the three victims killed by the shooters. Following the shooting, law enforcement departments across Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire said that they would be implementing additional security measures near religious places of worship.
28-year-old arrested, charged with hate crime for alleged assault of Jewish man near L.A. synagogue
A man from Carlsbad has been arrested and federally charged with a hate crime after he allegedly assaulted a Jewish man near a synagogue that was hosting an event – one that drew counterprotesters — nearly two years ago. The incident unfolded on June 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday. According to the indictment, a real estate agency known as “My Home in Israel” advertised an event at the Adas Torah Synagogue, located in L.A.’s heavily Jewish Pico-Robertson neighborhood on that day. The event was to promote land for sale in Israel. At the same time, several other groups “planned for and advertised a protest to take place at this event,” the DOJ said, including one protest to “stand against settler expansion.” It was this protest that the Carlsbad resident at the center of the investigation, 28-year-old Zaid Gitesani, traveled to, federal officials stated Monday. When he got to the area, he allegedly assaulted a Jewish man, identified in court documents as “Victim A.”
Suspect Leads LAPD Officers on Chase into South Gate
A possible domestic violence suspect led police on a brief chase from South Los Angeles to South Gate Monday, resulting in a standoff that saw the driver waving a butcher knife before tossing it out of the vehicle and later being taken into custody. The man, who is in his 40s, was suspected of a restraining order violation related to possible domestic violence, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Officers began chasing him about 7:15 a.m. in the 300 block of East 92nd Street. The chase ended when he pulled into a driveway on Elizabeth Street in South Gate around 7:25 a.m. He refused to get out of the vehicle, which was quickly boxed in and surrounded by police, until around 7:50 a.m. Officers used less-lethal rounds on the man in an effort to gain compliance, according to reports from the scene.
Santa Monica kidnapping suspect in custody following police chase, shooting
A kidnapping suspect was taken into custody overnight following a chase that ended in gunfire in South Los Angeles. The incident unfolded around 3:15 a.m. Monday when Santa Monica police officers located the suspect was wanted in connection with an ongoing kidnapping investigation involving an adult victim, according to the Santa Monica Police Department. Officers initiated the pursuit when the suspect fled, but it came to an end shortly after near Hoover and 85th streets. That's where an officer-involved shooting occurred, but police did not provide additional information about what prompted the gunfire. Nobody was shot, however, including officers. The suspect was taken into custody. Police said the kidnapping victim was not present when the chase and shooting unfolded. The Los Angeles Police Department and L.A. County Sheriff's Department were on scene helping with the investigation.
MacArthur Park benches removed as residents warn of deeper crisis tied to drugs, violence
A bus stop bench in Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park neighborhood has been removed after residents complained that homeless people were sleeping there and using drugs nearby, but many who live and work in the area say the missing bench is only a small part of a much larger public safety crisis. FOX 11 walked through the area near Alvarado Street and Sixth Street, where open drug use, violence and visible signs of addiction continue to frustrate residents and commuters. The neighborhood remains one of the city’s most troubled corridors, with people openly using drugs on sidewalks and needles scattered across the area. During FOX 11’s visit, tensions escalated quickly on the street, including one violent confrontation in broad daylight in which a man was beaten to the ground. "They ain’t ever going to fix the problem, baby," said a woman identified as Carly. Resident William Howard Chromity said walking through the area often means staying alert and prepared for confrontation.
Surveillance camera captures moments car crashes underneath pickup truck in Canoga Park
Surveillance camera footage shows the moments when a sedan crashes into the back of a parked pickup truck in Canoga Park early Sunday and somehow gets wedged underneath. It happened at around 11:20 a.m. in the 6500 block of Shoup Avenue, neighbors told CBS LA. The footage shows a white sedan as it appears to lose control and slam into the back of the white pickup. The force of the impact sends the rear of the pickup into the air, at which point the sedan gets stuck under the back tires. Both the pickup and an SUV that was also parked along the curb were then pushed forward before all three vehicles finally came to a rest. Circumstances surrounding what led up to the crash remain under investigation, but neighbors say that street racing has been an issue on Shoup Avenue in the past. Los Angeles police have not yet provided information on the incident.
Homeless people on Skid Row were paid to register to vote, feds charge
A longtime signature gatherer will plead guilty to paying homeless people on Skid Row to help get initiatives on the ballot, federal prosecutors said Monday, part of an effort to crack down on what they claim is widespread voter fraud across the state. Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong, 64, of Marina del Rey agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of paying a person to register to vote, prosecutors announced Monday. She faces up to five years in prison. Armstrong, who worked for 20 years gathering signatures for ballot initiatives, would give people on Skid Row $2 to $3 — or, sometimes, a cigarette or a phone cord — in exchange for their signature to help qualify a measure for the ballot, according to her plea agreement. Skid Row, an area in downtown Los Angeles, has the densest concentration of homeless people in the county. Starting in 2025, Armstrong would also register neighborhood residents to vote, sometimes using her former home address, according to court records.
Over 70 arrested, dozens of firearms seized in Southern California crime suppression operation
Investigators arrested over 70 people and seized dozens of firearms and nearly 6 pounds of narcotics in a weeklong targeted crime suppression operation in Southern California dubbed “Operation Consequences,” according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. Authorities served 14 search warrants between May 11 and May 17, including a focused operation in Fontana and surrounding communities on May 15, the sheriff said. The surrounding communities included Hesperia, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, Bloomington, Muscoy, Rialto, San Bernardino, Riverside, Corona and Santa Clarita. Additionally, the San Bernardino Movement Against Street Hoodlums (SMASH) Street Enforcement Team (SET) conducted patrols in the San Bernardino area and nearby jurisdictions. As a result, investigators made 39 felony arrests and 37 misdemeanor arrests. Nearly 6 pounds of suspected narcotics were seized, along with suspected methamphetamine and fentanyl.
‘Fighting for his life': Ark. officer returns fire after being shot in the neck by suspect
A Fort Smith Police officer was able to return fire after being severely wounded in a suspect attack, 40/29 News reported. Officer Kyle Newman underwent emergency surgery and is in critical condition after being shot in the neck by a suspect. The May 17 incident unfolded when Newman approached the suspect’s crashed vehicle. As Newman began to investigate the suspect for possible DUI, the suspect became argumentative, eventually attempting to flee in his truck, 40/29 reported. As Newman worked to remove him from the vehicle and detain him, the suspect shot Newman in the neck. Newman was able to fire his gun as he fell to the ground. Another officer heard the gunfire and responded, reporting the shots fired to dispatch, shooting at the suspect inside the vehicle and rendering aid to Newman. The suspect went on to lead officers on a pursuit before crashing the vehicle again, 40/29 reported. An officer-involved shooting occurred, which left the suspect dead. Officers located a handgun in the vehicle.
