from l.a. county tonight, a police officer is dead. his partner wounded after they rushed to help the victim of a traffic accident. authorities say that victim then opened fire with a semiautomatic weapon. abc s matt gutman from california tonight. reporter: tonight, a gunfight in suburban los angeles. [ sirens ] reporter: two police officers responding to a traffic accident when they notice a man in the car they begin to question has tattoos all over his face, and over his neck, and gang attire. reporter: they had no idea the car was stolen or he had been paroled two weeks earlier. they were in the process of getting the gun out of the car, and pat him down for weapons, and that s when they pulled the gun, and that s when the gunfight started. reporter: the suspect firing multiple shots. at least one of the officers returning fire, wounding him. you see that suspect being loaded, handcuffed into an ambulance as both the officers hit were rushed to a nearby hospital. one