Botched Police Hunt Injures Innocent Civilians

Hunt for ex-cop goes on amid Calif. snowstorm

Feb 08 2013 12:52PM CST

GREG RISLING, Associated Press

(Associated Press)

This undated photo released by the Los Angeles Police Department shows suspect Christopher Dorner, a former Los Angeles officer. Dorner, who was fired from the LAPD in 2008 for making false statements, is linked to a weekend killing in which one of the victims was the daughter of a former police captain who had represented him during the disciplinary hearing. Authorities believe Dorner opened fire early Thursday on police in cities east of Los Angeles, killing an officer and wounding another. Police issued a statewide "officer safety warning" and police were sent to protect people named in the posting that was believed to be written by Dorner. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Police Department)

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (AP) — A Los Angeles police official says investigators are keeping all options open in the manhunt for the former LAPD officer suspected of three murders.

Searchers are combing a snowy mountain east of Los Angeles where Christopher Dorner's truck was found Thursday, but Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese says it's not known if he's on foot either on or off the mountain.

Law enforcement officers have thus far injured 3 innocent civilians mistakenly believed to be Dorner. LAPD officers guarding a target named in the manifesto shot and wounded two women in suburban Torrance who were in a pickup truck delivering newspapers. Investigators said Maggie Carranza, 47, and her mother, Emma Hernandez, 71, were in a Toyota Tacoma, similar to Dorner's Nissan Titan. Carranza had minor hand injuries. Hernandez was hospitalized with a gunshot wound in the back. A lawyer said they had no warning.

Minutes later, Torrance officers responding to a report of gunshots encountered a dark pickup matching the description of Dorner's, police said. A collision occurred and the officers fired on the pickup. The unidentified driver was not hit and it turned out not to be the suspect vehicle, they said. Albanese says a package sent by Dorner to CNN's Anderson Cooper is being reviewed by the LAPD, and that another media source may have been similarly contacted.

The LAPD fired Dorner in 2008. Albanese says it's not known why the violence is occurring now.

Dorner is believed to have multiple weapons including an assault rifle. Albanese says bullets from such a weapon can penetrate body armor.