Ex-LAPD cop Christopher Dorner apparently killed self as cabin went up in flames

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. Fugitive ex-cop Christopher Dorner apparently killed himself with a gunshot to the head amid a fierce battle with police, law enforcement officials said Friday. He fired his last shot as the cabin he was holed up in was going up in flames.

Police initially weren't sure if Dorner was killed by one of their bullets or by a fire sparked when they launched incendiary tear gas inside. Now they believe he died by his own hand.

"When about a quarter of the cabin was on fire, we heard a distinct single gunshot come from inside the house, which was a much different-sounding shot than what he'd been shooting at us," San Bernardino sheriff's Capt. Kevin Lacy said.

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Gun battle with wanted ex-cop - caught on tape

CBS News correspondent Carter Evans was there caught in the crossfire when the gun battle took place on Tuesday. It was so intense that Evans was forced to take cover, but left a cell phone on. At the very beginning of the shootout, one can hear authorities near the phone talking about burning Dorner out of the cabin he was holed up in:

Officer 1: "Burn that (expletive) house down."

Officer 2: "Get going right now."

Officer 1: (expletive) burn that mother(expletive)

After the crack of the distinctive gunshot, investigators only heard ammunition popping in the flames as the cabin burned to the ground. Dorner's body was later found in the basement.

The day after the shootout, McMahon had insisted that authorities did not burn down the cabin on purpose. At Friday's press conference with the sheriff's department, Evans about the officers' remarks during the standoff. "We did not intentionally burn that cab down," said McMahon. "I stand by that remark. They had just been involved in probably one of the most fierce firefights. Sometimes, because we're humans, they say things they may or may not be appropriate."

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Police also confirmed that law enforcement had a near miss with Dorner as he hid in a mountain condominium. Dorner is believed to have entered the condo through an unlocked door sometime Feb. 7, soon after he arrived in the resort area of Big Bear Lake after killing three people. He locked the door and hunkered down for six days until the condo's owners came to clean it, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon told reporters Friday.

Deputies knocked on the door that first night but moved on when they found it locked and no sign of a break-in, McMahon said.

"Our deputy knocked on that door and did not get an answer, and in hindsight it's probably a good thing that he did not answer based on his actions before and after that event," the sheriff said of Dorner.

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Couple recall encounter with Christopher Dorner

When the owners arrived, he tied them up and fled in their car, leading to a chase, a shootout that killed a sheriff's deputy and, ultimately, Dorner's death in a remote cabin where he barricaded himself for a last stand.

Dorner was equipped with an arsenal of weapons, including assault rifles with flash suppressors that masked the sound of gunfire and the location it was coming from as he fired on the first two deputies to arrive at the cabin, killing Det. Jeremiah MacKay.

"Our officers had not even pulled their guns out at that point and were not prepared to engage anybody and they were ambushed," McMahon said.

The next five responding deputies got into a fierce firefight with bullets whizzing through trees. They deployed smoke bombs to block Dorner's view so they could pull the wounded to safety as other officers provided cover with a hail of bullets, said Capt. Gregg Herbert.

"Every time they tried to move, Dorner was shooting at them," he said. "There was bullets snapping through the trees."

Worried he was lying in wait to ambush them, they eventually used heavy machinery to peel back walls and windows to see if they could see Dorner, who used smoke bombs to obscure their view. They eventually resorted to the tear gas, though McMahon said they didn't intend to start the fire.

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The search for the former cop began last week after authorities said the former Navy reservist launched a violent revenge campaign against the Los Angeles Police Department for firing him, warning in an angry manifesto on Facebook that he would bring "warfare" to LAPD officers and their families.

Dorner was dismissed for filing a false police report that accused his training officer of kicking a mentally disabled man.

His first victims were Monica Quan and her fiance, Keith Lawrence, both gunned down outside their Orange County condominium Feb. 3. Quan was the daughter of former LAPD Capt. Randal Quan, who Dorner said did not properly defend him before a disciplinary board.

After ambushing and killing Riverside police officer Michael Crain and seriously wounding his partner at a traffic light, Dorner fled to the San Bernardino National Forest, about 80 miles east of Los Angeles. His burned-out truck, with a broken axle was found within walking distance of the Big Bear Lake condo where he hid 100 feet across the street from the command post set up for the manhunt.

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[cryofan]

"Innocent until proven crispy".

That is our new standard as laid down by the Overlords of America, our out of control government and their bully boy mafia, the police. And the lapdog corporate media could not possibly BE more spineless.

They murdered Dorner. And the media lays down.

Hang em.

[MattB2885]

Dorner, regardless of death, is nevertheless dead. There should be an independent investigation of the case, of course, but the main point here is that Dorner was stopped. Clear and simple.

[Robert_M1]

Mr. Dorner already knew that the authorities were going to kill him. Look at all the innocent people that the authorities hurt trying to get to this man., this alone proofs it. He simply beat them to the punch. He decided to end his own life, under his own terms. Mr. Dorner was a mentally broken man reaching out for help., no one came to help him. Instead they threw some napalm into the cabin and burned it to the ground with Mr. Dorner in it. Judge, jury, and penalty was demonstrated at Big Bear.

[THEMINISTERDCX]

This was a simple public execution. The sheriff department simply lied about setting that building on fire. I believe he could have killed himself in the fire. There was many more obtions that could have been used. Time was on the police department side. He was surrounded there were few people to evacuate. He didn't have alot of ammo. The police were afraid of him for more than one reason. This was the act of cowards.

[Arwen777]

I wouldn't believe a word of the "official" version of Dorner's death. There needs to be an INDEPENDENT investigation into the death of Chris Dorner.

Hopefully Dorner's family will file a wrongful death suit against the city of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Police Department, San Bernardino County, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's department, the local fire department and all the individual officers at the scene. The attorneys should then hire and conduct their own inquest to independently determine what happened and what was the cause of death.

It is only under these circumstances that anyone will decide the cause of death and who killed Christopher Dorner. At this point thousands of people believe the police shot Dorner in the head as they executed him.

[johnlockesghost]

In the end, Dorner did the taxpayers a favor by committing suicide. In doing so, however, he did cheat the lawyers and the media out of a lot of money, but that's a good thing. As regards to whether or not, the police set fire to the cabin: so what? They tried to talk him out--nah, they tried to smoke him out--nah, so, they tried to burn him out. He chose to eat his gun, finally, something to thank him for.

[highlndr55]

Good riddance! The only thing that would have made his suicide better, would have been him killing himself before he ambushed the innocent people he killed in cold blood.

[johnlockesghost]

Agree totally.

[denise_mcclurg]

they don't know how the fire started well listen to this audio that went viral from RCNG and Andy Burgoon on facebook.....http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/29262517

[11again]

Police have too many war toys and this only makes them more scared and more aggressive. We need gun control for the police!

http://11again.wordpress.com/2013/02/07/gun-control-needs-to-start-with-the-police/

[MattB2885]

Stop it with this "gun control" crap. You take all the good citizen's guns and the only ones left with guns is criminals. Then who is going to stop a robber from breaking into your house? Brinks home Security? Hope they're faster than a bullet, or else you're toast.

[cuffhead]

It's actually good he's dead. Who know, after millions of dollars and a long trial, he might end up like OJ.