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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Authorities on Wednesday launched a manhunt after revealing that an armed gunman had shot dead a police officer during a roadside check in a small California town.
In an alert, the California Highway Patrol said that the suspect, whose name was not known, was considered armed and dangerous.
Newman police officer Ronil Singh, 33, called Wednesday morning to intercept a gray Dodge pickup truck without a license plate. A few minutes later, shots had been fired at his radio, Stanislaus County. Sheriff's Department Deputy Royjinder Singh said.
Several organizations responded and found Singh shot and wounded. They drove the husband and father of an infant to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Land and air units were searching for the suspect on the basis of surveillance photos taken at a convenience store shortly before the Newman attack, about 160 km southeast of San Francisco .
In the photos, the heavy suspect with short, dark hair wears a thick chain collar, jeans, a dark hoodie and a dark colored t-shirt.
Surveillance footage also captured the suspect's vehicle, a gray Dodge Ram pick-up truck with paper registration plates, matching the description that Singh had called. Authorities then located the vehicle and said it was being processed.
"We have sent information to law enforcement agencies in and out of California," said Sgt. Tom Letras, sheriff's spokesman.
A native of Fiji, Singh had been working since July 2011 for the Newman Police Department, a town of about 10,000 people. Earlier in his career, Singh worked as a deputy in the Merced County Sheriff's Department.
"He was living the American dream," said the Stanislaus Singh MP, who is not related to the killed officer, but knew him. After emigrating from Fiji, Ronil Singh went to the police academy and got the job of his dreams, said the MP, adding that he "loved camping, hunting , fished, loved his family ".
On his Facebook page, Ronil Singh published photos of Christmas Eve from a deep-sea fishing trip which produced a large quantity of crabs and fish. The profile picture shows him smiling while he's standing near a police car with a dog – the same picture of the officer issued by the sheriff's department.
He is survived by his wife Anamika and a 5-month-old son, authorities said.
California outgoing governor Jerry Brown extends his condolences to Singh's family and says the Capitol Flags were flying mid-stick in his honor.
"Our thoughts are with the entire Newman community and the country's law enforcement agencies, who risk their lives every day to protect and serve the people of California," said Mr. Brown.
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Associate Press reporter Amanda Lee Myers in Los Angeles contributed to this story.
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