Gunman kills Kern County deputy and three others

July 26, 2021

Deputy Phillip Campas

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

A gunman shot and killed his two sons and their mother inside a home in Wasco on Sunday, then shot and killed a Kern County Sheriff’s deputy, prior to dying in a firefight.

The gunman, a 41-year-old man, shot his sons, 24 and 17, and their mother, 42, at about 1 p.m. on Sunday. Two women and two girls managed to escape the house unharmed, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said at a press conference on Monday.

Kern County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene, and shortly afterwards, the gunman opened fire from inside the home. The deputies took cover and requested backup, including the SWAT team.

Shortly before 3 p.m., SWAT officers approached the house in attempt to extricate the victims, believing they might still be alive. The gunman began shooting at the SWAT officers with a rifle as they approached the front door.

The gunman shot Deputy Phillip Campas, 35, as well as a second deputy. Campas and the other deputy were taken to the hospital. Campas succumbed to his injuries, while the other survived.

An additional two SWAT officers were wounded by shrapnel. They remained at the scene and continued to take part in the SWAT team efforts.

The standoff continued, and at certain points, the gunman fired from the house at the SWAT team.

At 6:28 p.m., the gunman exited the house armed with an AK-47 and a handgun and climbed on the roof of a home. Officers shot the suspect.

The gunman was taken down from the roof and pronounced dead at the scene. At the time of the deadly shootout, he had a restraining order that prohibited him from possessing firearms.

Deputy Campas was a five-year veteran of the Kern County Sheriff’s Office and a marine veteran who served as a sergeant in Afghanistan. Sheriff Youngblood said Campas was a star in the sheriff’s office.

“He probably touched this organization as much as anyone that I’ve ever seen in such a short period of time,” Youngblood said.


Loading...
7 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Thank god he had an AK47. Otherwise this would have ended in tragedy! So sorry for the lives lost in this.

Nobody needs to own an AK47. How many articles do you read that somebody with an AK47 saved their family from an intruder compared to how many innocent people and police officers were killed with one. I challenge anyone to comb the news and get the statistics and show me how letting loose canons own these things is patriotic.


I don’t want a stupid thumbs up or down, reply and give me the logic of letting any dumbs%&* owning an AK47.


The gunmen had multiple arrests for domestic violence and had a restraining order against him. California gun laws would have put him in a ‘prohibited’ category — meaning he could not lawfully own a gun.


If anything, this is just proof that either we failed to enforce the law when he purchased it, or he was illegally in possession.


It’s sad for the woman and children who were killed by this psychopath. Maybe if they

had their own AK and saw him coming, they would have had a fighting chance.


Was this a COVID fueled issue due to another Zoom custody hearing? These consequences are too ghoulish for a stand alone story. The background should be required for this vicarious story about insanity. For this reason we do not televise of have public executions.


All I read is another LEO and vet husband, father, brother, friend…not coming home today and never will.


I am also waiting for the comments from armchair pontificators who have joined the chorus this past year of anti police sentiment. Or, at the very least, have on this platform, expressed a degree of animus toward law enforcement.


Still want to defund the police? Or reimagine them…wonder if a social worker would have faired any better?


RIP Deputy Campas


It appears that you are the one turning this tragedy into a political statement. My condolences to his family, friends and co-workers.


Tell what really happened.

An insane man killed his two sons & their mother. Than in a fire fight killed a police office before he was killed by police fire.