A young Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy was standing outside his station in Lancaster, Calif., last week when, he said, two gunshots erupted from a nearby apartment building, one of the bullets grazing him in the shoulder.

He was rushed to a hospital, and hundreds of law enforcement personnel embarked on a dayslong manhunt that diverted traffic, caused the local passenger rail system to shut down and displaced residents of the apartment building.

But it turned out that the deputy made it all up.

“There was no sniper,” Capt. Kent Wegener said at a news conference on Saturday. “No shots fired and no gunshot injury sustained to his shoulder. Completely fabricated.”

The deputy, Angel Reinosa, 21, had acknowledged lying about being shot at on Aug. 21, Captain Wegener said. Detectives had seen no visible injury to the deputy’s shoulder, and “he also had told investigators that he had caused the holes in his shirt by cutting it with a knife,” the captain said.

The story unraveled even as the authorities hunted for the supposed gunman.

No ballistic evidence could be found at the scene. No bullets were recovered. No cars were struck by gunfire, and witness statements didn’t match the accusations, Captain Wegener said.

“There were many things that didn’t add up,” he said.

When the authorities questioned Mr. Reinosa more critically about his claims, the deputy confessed to lying, the captain said.

Deputy Reinosa did not give a motive for his actions.

“Much of his statement was self-serving, didn’t make a whole lot of sense,” Mr. Wegener said. “But he didn’t get into detail as to why he cut the holes or why he fabricated the story.”

Mayor R. Rex Parris of Lancaster said Monday that Mr. Reinosa had been a trainee for a few months and was “not doing well.”

“It’s unfathomable why he would behave this way, but he did it,” Mr. Parris said. “It’s certainly regrettable.”

The apartment building targeted in the manhunt was built to house clients of the mental-health facility next door, Mr. Parris said. It has since been opened up to others.

He said that despite the false alarm, he was not happy that the building’s windows face the parking lot of the sheriff’s station. “What we’re looking at now is covering the parking lot with solar panels,” he said. “There certainly has to be some type of obstruction. Because we have to recognize the world we live in today.”

The station posted a statement on Facebook on Sunday using some of the words it said were circulating the hallways of the station: “Angry. Embarrassed. Furious. Unbelievable. Ashamed.”

“We are saddened by the outcome of the investigation, but are so grateful to our community for their cooperation on Wednesday and your ongoing support every day,” the statement continued. “The actions of one individual are not indicative of who Lancaster Sheriff’s Station Deputies are.”

Mr. Wegener said at the news conference that the investigation was continuing and that, when concluded, it would be turned over to the district attorney’s office. When asked what charges Mr. Reinosa might face, Mr. Wegener said he could not say but suggested false report of an emergency could be among them.

Mr. Reinosa has been relieved of his duties and has been assigned to his residence, Deputy Trina Schrader, a department spokeswoman, said Monday. It was not clear whether he had legal representation.

“I think he should be prosecuted,” Mr. Parris said. “I think he should be held accountable for the damage he’s done to people. What he did to our city is unforgivable.”

Source: Read Full Article