US police hunt alleged cop killer in mountains

US: Police vowed Thursday to keep searching for an ex-cop accused of killing three people, including another officer, as night fell over a California ski resort where his burnt-out truck was found.

Some 125 officers were deployed in and around Big Bear, east of Los Angeles, where police found the Nissan pickup truck belonging to Christopher Dorner, 33, who had posted a chilling online manifesto.

“We'll keep working on it until we're able to either locate the suspect, or determine that he's no longer in the Big Bear Valley,” said San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon, as schools and ski lifts were put on lockdown.

“We did find some tracks around the vehicle, but they did not lead to the suspect... we are committed to continuing this operation.” It also emerged that Dorner had sent a package a week ago to CNN host Anderson Cooper, with a note saying “I never lied,” a DVD and a coin shot through with bullet holes, the news anchor said. Dorner was wanted over Sunday's suspected revenge killing of a couple, Keith Lawrence and Monica Quan. The woman was the daughter of Randy Quan, a retired police officer Dorner blamed for his firing five years ago.

The suspect then allegedly attacked two other officers overnight Wednesday in Riverside, killing one and injuring the other. Another officer was injured in a separate incident in nearby Corona. In addition, two civilians were injured early Thursday when police officers opened fire on them in a vehicle they believed to be Dorner's.

In an Internet manifesto threatening police and their families, Dorner had warned about “terminating” Quan and called lesbians and Asians “high-value” targets.

“I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty,” he said.

The LA Police Department, backed by agencies including the FBI, said it was protecting over 40 possible targets, some of them identified in the “rambling” online manifesto by Dorner, a US Navy reservist.

AFP