Utah police: Deputy shooting suspect left home with a gun

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Utah police say the man accused of shooting an off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy and killing another man an hour earlier had told his family he wanted to “make it on his own or die.”

St. George Police Capt. Mike Giles says Rhett Nelson’s family contacted authorities on May 27 and said he’d left their Utah home with a gun but they did not think he was suicidal or a danger to anyone else.

Police say Nelson shot Deputy Joseph Gilbert Solano in the head Monday after fatally shooting a 30-year-old man in attacks that both appear to be random. Solano remains in grave condition.

Giles says no recent crimes involving Nelson have been reported to St. George police.

Los Angeles investigators are seeking potential victims because they believe he may have been involved in other incidents in California.