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Two men are in police custody after an off-duty officer was shot at early Friday morning, according to the Merced Police Department.
Police officer Vance Walker was driving to a local gym at approximately 4:30 a.m., when he saw a man crossing the road in front of him. Walker slowed down to allow the man to finish crossing, when he noticed a second man standing on the sidewalk. The second man asked Walker for a cigarette and Walker told him he didn't have any. He then noticed the first man standing near the right front corner of his vehicle. Walker feared he was going to be the subject of a robbery, so he drove away. That's when the suspect standing on the sidewalk shot at the vehicle, striking it three times. Walker was uninjured. As he drove away, he saw the two suspects run into an apartment complex on Park Avenue.
Officer Jesse Padget responded to the scene just after 5 a.m., and found one of the men in the 3000 block of Park Avenue. Officer Nick deJong and Sergeant Rod Dash found a second man, who was attempting to run away by jumping residential fences. Walker identified both men as the shooting suspects.
