In a statement made public by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, District Attorney George Gascón has leveled multiple felony charges against Malcolm Darnell Guss, Jr., the man accused of opening fire on two LAPD officers during a traffic stop in Willowbrook earlier this month. Guss faces attempted murder and assault with a firearm among other charges following the alleged attack on July 3rd, which DA Gascón condemned as a "heinous attack" and a stark reminder of the dangers law enforcement officers face, according to an official news release.

Officers Stefan Carutasu and Joshua Rodney were involved in what appeared to be a routine stop when the defendant reportedly unleashed multiple rounds from a machine gun, before the officers had a chance to exit their patrol car, striking one of them with two graze wounds, this incident occurred near Broadway and Rosecrans Avenue and ended with both officers suffering injuries from the resulting shattered glass of their patrol vehicle's windshield. The suspect, with a birth date of December 23, 1992, pleaded not guilty in response to all the charges at his arraignment, he is slated for a preliminary hearing set for July 29 at the Compton Courthouse, reflecting the gravity of the allegations which include two counts of assault with a machine gun upon a peace officer and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Following the attack, Mr. Guss fled and was apprehended nine days later by the LAPD; he now remains in custody on a $2,025,000 bail schedule. If found guilty on all charges, the accused could face a life sentence. The Los Angeles Police Department is continuing to investigate the circumstances that led to the gunfire exchange on that perilous July evening.

Descriptive details of the event recount that before Carutasu and Rodney could step out of their patrol car, Guss allegedly fired an AR-style rifle, described as fully automatic, with intentional precision at the two defenseless officers behind the cover of their vehicle.