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Ex-Cop and Murder Suspect Christopher Dorner Holed Up in Cabin Near Mentone, Calif., About 30 Miles Down the Mountain From Big Bear, Calif. Where Police Had Been Searching for the Suspect. Has CNN Misread a Newspaper Report?

Feb 12, 2013  •  Post A Comment

CNN, Fox News and a number of other media outlets are reporting that murder suspect Christopher Dorner is currently in a cabin near Mentone, Calif. Mentone is about 30 miles southeast from Big Bear, Calif., the mountain town where police were seaching for Dorner.

Reports were unclear as to whether or not there were hostages in the cabin, which is in an area that is covered with snow. Reports said there had been an exchange of gunfire, and two sheriff”s deputies have been injured.

A report on the website of the Los Angeles Times filed at 2:32 p.m. PT today, 2/12/2013, says, "Days ago, Dorner broke into a cabin off Route 38, a source said. He allegedly tied up the couple inside and held them hostage until Tuesday morning when he left. It is unclear whether Dorner stole their vehicle or another, but Fish and Wildlife officers knew to be on the lookout for a white pickup truck when they spotted Dorner driving one and attempted to stop him, the source said.

"Dorner crashed the truck during the ensuing chase and allegedly exchanged gunfire with the officers as he fled into another cabin, where he was quickly surrounded by San Bernardino sheriff’s deputies. The source said one deputy was hit as Dorner fired out of the cabin and a second was injured when Dorner exited the back of the cabin, deployed a smoke bomb and opened fire again in an apparent attempt to flee. Dorner was driven back inside the cabin, the source said.

"There was initial confusion as to where a helicopter should land to evacuate the injured officers,  so deputies used their own smoke bombs to provide enough cover to carry the wounded to a pickup truck that took them to the waiting helicopter."

At 2:42 pm PT, Wolf Blitzer on CNN said that Dorner was indeed currently holding hostages in the cabin he is now in. Blitzer claimed that the information was from the L.A. Times, and had not been independently confirmed by CNN.

However, TVWeek could not find a story on the website of the L.A. Times that had this information. TVWeek speculates that Blitzer or someone at CNN may have misread the report that the L.A. Times posted at 2:32 pm. that mentioned the hostages that Dorner had been holding in a cabin he was staying at until Tuesday morning.

Finally, at 3:11 pm PT, Anderson Cooper gave a correct account of what the L.A Times reported, but he never said that Blitzer had it wrong earlier.

3 Comments

  1. Why would he say Blitzer got it wrong. You only call out competitors when they screw up, not your own people.

  2. I’m confused…. The Mayor of Big Bear Jay… something said that cabin that burned was only 7 miles away, and the school closest to the town Something “Oaks” was still on lockdown… This was live with CBS2/KCAL9 on their 3 or 4 PM newscast/simulcast. Can we get some facts correct? CBS2 also was the first to get info on the passed officer, via the same mayor.
    Why can’t the “24/7” news channels get the facts right? Maybe that’s just one of the 2 major reasons I conveniently forgot about those channels. I simply don’t trust the news on those channels, since they can’t get the facts right, by fighting to be the first on air with info. CNN and Fox News (FNC) both have no more credibility anymore. It will be an uphill track of getting me back!

  3. One more observation… in the email, leading to this article, this news outlet showed Chris Dorner “holed up in a cable” as part of the subject of the email. Is it right for this “paper” to report on inaccuracies, with this happening?

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