EL MONTE, Calif. — Two Southern California police officers were patrolling their shared hometown — one on the force for more than two decades and the other for just months — when both were slain Tuesday in a shootout while investigating a possible stabbing at a suburban Los Angeles motel.

Corporal Michael Paredes and Officer Joseph Santana were identified Wednesday. They both were raised in and worked for the city of El Monte, a suburb of 107,000 people in the San Gabriel Valley. They became only the third and fourth officers in the El Monte Police Department’s history to die in the line of duty.

The suspect, identified as Justin William Flores, died at the scene. Flores was on probation for a gun charge at the time of the shooting, which occurred a day after his probation officer requested that he return to court later in the month, court records show.

“Corporal Paredes and Officer Santana paid the ultimate sacrifice,” the city of El Monte wrote in a news release, “while in performance of a noble profession, serving the community they loved.”

Mourners on Wednesday left bouquets, wreaths of flowers and candles outside the El Monte police station to honor the fallen officers. Their autopsy examinations are pending. The coroner’s office has not yet released the name of the suspect but the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office identified Flores to The Associated Press.

His mother, Lynn Covarrubias, also told AP that Flores was killed in the shooting but she said she had not been formally notified of his death by police.

Flores, 35, served two stints in state prison for vehicle theft and burglary, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The district attorney’s office says Flores burglarized his grandparents’ home. He was most recently released from prison in 2012.

In March 2020, Flores was arrested and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and for possession of narcotics for personal use. He pleaded guilty last year to being a felon in possession of a firearm, a felony charge that could have sent him back to prison for three years.

Instead he was sentenced to two years of probation and 20 days in jail and LA County District Attorney George Gascón, who is facing a recall effort for his progressive policies, is facing criticism for Flores’ plea deal.

“The sentence he received in the firearm case was consistent with case resolutions for this type of offense given his criminal history and the nature of the offense,” the DA’s office said in a statement Wednesday. “At the time the court sentenced him, Mr. Flores did not have a documented history of violence.”

Court records obtained by AP do not specify why Flores’ probation officer had requested Monday that he return to court; records show that a hearing was scheduled for June 27.

The county’s probation department declined to comment and Flores’ attorney in the case did not return a request for comment on Wednesday. But the Los Angeles Times reported that Flores had violated his probation, triggering the return to court.

Few details have emerged about what occurred during Tuesday’s violence. The officers went to the Siesta Inn in El Monte, east of Los Angeles, around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, for a welfare check where a woman had possibly been stabbed.

The officers “confronted the suspect,” Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide Capt. Andrew Meyer said Tuesday.

Gunfire erupted inside a motel room and the gunman then fled into the parking lot, where more gunfire was exchanged, Meyer said.

Meyer said he didn’t know whether the officers were shot inside the motel or outside. They died at a hospital. Flores was shot and died at the scene and a gun was found.

Meyer said investigators were interviewing a woman from the hotel who they believe was the suspect’s girlfriend. She wasn’t stabbed, he said.

Paredes, who is survived by his wife, daughter and son, started as a cadet in the department before becoming a full-time officer in 2000, according to a news release. The 42-year-old served in several specialized assignments, being appointed to the rank of corporal.

Santana, 31, had been with the El Monte force for less than a year when he was killed. He previously served as a deputy with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department for three years, the news release stated.

“This tragic loss hits close to home for us,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department wrote on Twitter. “Joseph began his career with our department in March 2018 and was a graduate of Academy Class 211. He was a great partner and loved by all who knew him.”

Santana also worked as a part-time public works employee for El Monte for six years before turning to law enforcement. He is survived by his wife, daughter and twin sons.

El Monte interim Police Chief Ben Lowry on Tuesday called the officers heroes.

“These two men were loved,” Lowry said. “They were good men. They paid the ultimate sacrifice, serving their community trying to help somebody.”

“Today, they were murdered by a coward and we are grieving, and that hurts,” he said.

El Monte Mayor Jessica Ancona said the officers died “while trying to keep a family safe.”

The killings came just one day after a California Highway Patrol officer was shot and critically wounded during a traffic stop in the Studio City area of Los Angeles.

The 27-year-old officer was shot several times. He was in critical but stable condition at a hospital but was expected to recover, the CHP said.

A bloodhound helped police track down a suspect and Pejhmaun Iraj Khosroabadi surrendered to police Tuesday morning in a homeless encampment in the Van Nuys area of the San Fernando Valley, authorities said.

It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

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