On Saturday, 29-year-old Kevin Salazar allegedly shot and killed Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy, in an ambush outside the Palmdale Sheriff's Station. Salazar's family has come forward with their own struggle and heartbreak regarding their son's mental illness, schizophrenia, which they believe played a role in the tragic event.
In interviews with various news outlets, Salazar's mother, Marle Salazar, and sister, Jessica (last name withheld), have both stated that Kevin Salazar has been struggling with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia for the past five years. They claim that when he stops taking his medications, he becomes aggressive and suffers from self-harming behavior, including suicide attempts, as stated by Spectrum News.
Since his diagnosis, Marle Salazar has reached out to the Los Angeles Sheriff's department for assistance during Kevin's mental health crises, but according to her, she was told there was nothing they could do, according to NBC Los Angeles. In spite of Kevin Salazar's apparent calming behavior over the last months, his family's attempts to help him deal with his diagnosis seem to have tragically fallen short of preventing the fatal incident.
During a press conference announcing the arrest of Kevin Salazar, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna appeared dismissive of the suggestion that mental illness could have played a role in the crime, stating, "Does it matter what the person was thinking or their condition?", reported by Fox LA.
While Kevin Salazar's sister, Jessica, acknowledges that her brother's mental illness does not excuse his actions, she asks for some consideration, stating, "Please, don't punish him like if he was a regular person. He's sick." As reported by NBC Los Angeles.
