Officer Shot During Investigation at Bank

A 35-year old El Monte police officer was hospitalized in critical condition Monday after he was shot while investigating a forgery suspect at a local bank. A suspect was captured hours later, police said.

“Our officer was entering the Security Pacific branch in answer to the call when he was shot in the neck and fell to the ground,” Officer Mark Montes said.

Identification of the two-year veteran officer was withheld pending notification of relatives.

Police would not say immediately whether the officer was armed or how the arrest was made. The suspect, Nguyen Lu, 28, of Temple City, was booked on suspicion of attempted murder.