Kimberleigh Funkey, from Palm Springs, Calif., lays flowers by photos of slain Palm Springs police officers Lesley Zerebny and Jose "Gil" Gilbert Vega, in front of the police station in Palm Springs, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Peña) (AP2016)
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (FOX 11 / AP) – It was a parade of mourners: Palm Springs residents, members of police and fire agencies, neighboring departments and others. All showing up at the Palm Springs Police Department with flowers and tears.
A sign on a makeshift memorial outside the police station reads, "God Bless Our Hero's." The spelling may be incorrect, but for so many the message was 100 percent accurate.
On Saturday, Officers Jose "Gil" Gilbert Vega and Lesley Zerebny answered a “family disturbance” call. When they arrived they were shot and killed as they approached the front door of the house.
The suspect, John Felix, was arrested after a 12-hour standoff. Riverside Deputy Sheriff Ray Wood says, “Almost immediately after introducing chemical agents inside the residence the suspect emerged out the back door.”
But, when Felix wouldn’t give up, Deputy Wood says the 26-year-old was subdued using less lethal munitions.
Authorities say, when arrested, he was "wearing soft body armor and had high capacity magazines."
Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin says, “We will be filing two counts of first degree murder and at least two special circumstances," which, the DA says, means the death penalty could be an option.
As she stood by the makeshift memorial Palm Springs resident Sandra Walmsley said, “It’s really hard to hold the tears back. I mean hearing the stories about the officers.”
After laying a bouquet of flowers at the monument Kay Wood said, “I am so grateful for the good job (of police) always 24/7 for all of us common people.”
Also, at the police station, were two women. Both are Los Angeles Police Officers who came to the police station to pay their respects. Just like Officer Zerebny, Officer Susan Garcia just had a baby and just returned to work. Says Garcia, "My heart goes out to her husband and her daughter. She’s not going to be there for her daughter’s first birthday and that poor dad. He needs as much love and support as he can get right now.”
There was a third officer wounded. He has yet not been identified, but has been released from the hospital.
Meanwhile, suspect John Felix is in the Riverside County Jail. There is no bail. Arraignment could be sometime this week according to the District Attorney.
In the minutes before three Palm Springs officers were shot, two fatally, the suspected gunman's father told a neighbor his son was armed, "acting crazy" and wanted to shoot police.
John Felix, 26, was apprehended early Sunday after a lengthy standoff and will be charged this week with murder.
Police said Felix emerged wearing soft body armor and carrying ammunition but no weapon after police shot a chemical agent into the home where he had holed up.
A neighbor, Frances Serrano, told The Associated Press that the suspect's panicked father, Santos Felix, earlier said his son, an admitted gang member, had a gun.
"My son is inside and we're scared, he's acting crazy," Serrano said the older Felix told her. When it was suggested they call the police he said, "Yeah, he already knows they are coming, and he is going to shoot them."
Serrano said she went back inside her house and within minutes police cars arrived and gunfire erupted.
Police said John Felix suddenly pulled out a gun and opened fire on the officers who had responded to a family disturbance call Saturday afternoon at the home he shared with his parents in a quiet neighborhood of single-story ranch homes this desert resort city.
Police arrested John Felix after shooting him with non-lethal rounds when he finally exited through the back door, unarmed but wearing body armor and carrying ammo. SWAT officers using bullhorns had tried through the night to establish contact with him, but got no response. He was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening.
District Attorney Michael Hestrin said John Felix would be charged Tuesday with first degree murder and several other felony counts. Prosecutors would decide within two weeks whether he could face the death penalty, he said. It wasn't known Sunday if he has an attorney.
Reyes indicated police have had previous dealings with the suspect, but he declined to elaborate.
Court records show John Felix is a gang member who was previously sentenced to four years in prison in a failed murder plot in 2009. Documents cited by the Desert Sun newspaper reveal he was charged with attempted murder but pleaded down to assault with a firearm and admitted his gang connection.
Documents also show John Felix was the subject of a forceful arrest three years ago at the same house where Saturday's shootings occurred.
It had been 54 years since an on-duty uniformed police officer was killed in Palm Springs, a city of 45,000 residents about 100 miles east of Los Angeles, known for its desert views, boutique hotels and golf courses.
In front of police headquarters, scores of local residents gathered to leave flowers, balloons and cards.
Vega had submitted his paperwork to retire at the end of the year after a long and decorated career, Reyes said.
"Here he is, 35 years in, still pushing a patrol car for our community to make it better – on a day he wasn't even scheduled to work," the chief said.
Reyes said Zerebny "pressed forward every day to make it better for everybody else." She and her husband, a sheriff's deputy, were new parents to a four-month-old baby.
"To see her laying down with her eyes open and to witness her husband in full Riverside County sheriff's uniform ... kiss her on the forehead for the last time ... It's tough," Reyes said.
Palm Springs resident Heidi Thompson called the killings "vicious and cruel."
For more Southern California stories visit fox11news.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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