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US continues search for ex-cop in shootingsBy Steve Gorman and Dan Whitcomb ,Reuters LOS ANGELES -- Police searched the mountains surrounding a California ski area on Thursday for a fired Los Angeles policeman accused of killing three people, after he declared war on law enforcement officers and their families in a rambling Internet manifesto.
February 9, 2013, 12:03 am TWN The bloodshed attributed to Christopher Dorner, 33, began with the weekend slayings of a university safety officer and his fiancee, Monica Quan, 28. She was the daughter of a retired Los Angeles police captain who represented Dorner in disciplinary action that led to his firing in 2008. Quan and her fiance were found dead in Irvine, some 40 miles (64 km) south of Los Angeles. The violence escalated on Thursday with the fatal shooting of a police officer in Riverside and the wounding of two others. Dorner's pickup truck was later found burning in the snow near the mountain resort of Big Bear Lake, 80 miles (129 km) northeast of Los Angeles. Investigators, who are now searching with air units and dogs, found tracks leading away from the truck, but they did not lead to the suspect. “There's snow on the ground in a lot of the areas they're searching, and it's dark,” Cindy Bachman, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department told reporters at Big Bear Lake. “It's very difficult to search in these conditions.” Bachman said schools and a ski resort in the Big Bear Lake area would re-open on Friday amid speculation Dorner might have left the area. “I can tell you now that they have been searching for many hours and they have not found him,” Bachman said. Dorner, who joined the Navy in 2002 and the LAPD in 2005 and was a naval reservist until Friday, had posted his grievances on Facebook in what police see as a potential hit list. Police have taken steps to protect some 40 potential targets. “This is a vendetta against all of Southern California law enforcement and it should be seen as such,” Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck told reporters. “He knows what he's doing. We trained him ... He was also a member of the armed forces. It is extremely worrisome and scary, especially to the police officers involved,” Beck said.
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