Case file
Christopher Dorner shootings and manhunt
Documents violence · suicide — written to inform, not to shock.
Christopher Jordan Dorner (June 4, 1979 – February 12, 2013) was a former Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer and U.S. Navy Reserve lieutenant who, beginning February 3, 2013, carried out a series of shootings targeting LAPD personnel and their associates across Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, California. Dorner had been fired by the LAPD in 2008 after an internal review found he had made false statements in a report alleging that his training officer, Teresa Evans, used excessive force against a man with schizophrenia. Dorner's appeals of his termination were rejected by the Los Angeles County Superior Court and, in 2011, by the California Court of Appeal.
In early February 2013, Dorner posted an approximately 11,000-word manifesto on Facebook listing law enforcement personnel he intended to kill and demanding that the LAPD publicly acknowledge his termination was retaliatory. He had also sent a package to CNN journalist Anderson Cooper containing a DVD outlining his grievances against the department.
On February 3, 2013, Monica Quan, a 28-year-old assistant basketball coach and daughter of Randal Quan (the retired LAPD captain who had represented Dorner at his 2008 dismissal hearing), and her fiancé Keith Lawrence, 27, a USC campus safety officer, were shot dead in a parked car in Irvine. On February 7, Dorner shot two LAPD officers near Corona, grazing one; approximately twenty minutes later he ambushed two Riverside police officers stopped at a traffic light, killing officer Michael Crain and wounding the other. Dorner's burned vehicle was later found near Big Bear Lake, and he is believed to have occupied a cabin in the area for several days.
That same night, LAPD officers on a protection detail in Torrance mistakenly fired on a vehicle driven by Emma Hernandez and her daughter Margie Carranza, who were delivering newspapers and were unrelated to Dorner; both women were wounded but survived. A separate Torrance Police Department shooting minutes later struck an unrelated vehicle driven by David Perdue, who was not hit by gunfire but was injured when a police cruiser collided with his truck. Neither shooting resulted in criminal charges, though the LAPD later disciplined eight officers for use-of-force policy violations, and settlements were paid to the victims.
On February 12, 2013, after carjacking a couple's truck near Big Bear Lake, Dorner exchanged gunfire with San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies, killing Detective Jeremiah MacKay and wounding another deputy, before barricading himself in a nearby cabin. Following a standoff involving tear gas and a demolition vehicle, the cabin caught fire; a single gunshot was heard from inside before the blaze consumed the structure. On February 14, medical examiners confirmed via dental records that human remains found in the cabin were Dorner's, and an autopsy later determined he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Key facts
- Victims
- Jeremiah MacKay, Monica Quan, Keith Lawrence, Emma Hernandez, Margie Carranza, Michael Crain, David Perdue
- Date
- 2013
- Location
- Cabin near Big Bear Lake, San Bernardino Mountains, California, where the manhunt ended
- Case status
- solved
Case timeline
2007-07-28
Dorner and training officer Teresa Evans respond to a disturbance at a San Pedro hotel; Dorner later files a report alleging Evans used excessive force.
2008
Dorner is fired by the LAPD for making false statements in his report and testimony against Evans.
2011-10-03
California Court of Appeal affirms the lower court's ruling upholding Dorner's termination.
2013-02-01
A package from Dorner containing a DVD and other items arrives at CNN, addressed to Anderson Cooper.
2013-02-03
Monica Quan and Keith Lawrence are shot dead in a parked car in Irvine, California.
2013-02-04
Dorner's manifesto is posted online, detailing his grievances and motive.
2013-02-06
Irvine police name Dorner as the prime suspect in the murders of Quan and Lawrence.
2013-02-07
Dorner shoots two LAPD officers near Corona and ambushes two Riverside officers, killing Officer Michael Crain; LAPD and Torrance police separately shoot two unrelated vehicles, wounding Emma Hernandez and Margie Carranza and injuring David Perdue in a collision.
2013-02-07
Dorner's burned vehicle is found near Big Bear Lake; a large-scale search of the area begins.
2013-02-09
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck announces a review of Dorner's disciplinary case.
2013-02-10
A $1 million reward is announced for information leading to Dorner's capture.
2013-02-11
Riverside County prosecutors file formal murder and attempted murder charges against Dorner.
2013-02-12
Dorner carjacks a truck near Big Bear Lake, shoots two San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies (killing Detective Jeremiah MacKay), and barricades himself in a cabin, which catches fire during the standoff.
2013-02-13
Human remains and a wallet bearing Dorner's name are found in the burned cabin.
2013-02-14
Medical examiners confirm via dental records that the remains are Dorner's.
2013-02-15
Autopsy results announced: Dorner died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
2013-02-16
A protest against the LAPD is held outside the department's headquarters.
2013-04
LAPD pays a $4.2 million settlement to Margie Carranza and Emma Hernandez.
2014-02-04
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck announces eight officers violated use-of-force policy and will face discipline.
2014-07
City of Torrance reaches a $1.8 million settlement with David Perdue.
Best coverage
No approved coverage links are attached yet.
People
Christopher Dorner
CONVICTEDFormer LAPD officer charged by Riverside County prosecutors with murder of a police officer and attempted murder of three other officers; died by self-inflicted gunshot during the February 12, 2013 cabin standoff before trial.
citation on file
Jeremiah MacKay
VICTIMSan Bernardino County Sheriff's detective killed during the February 12, 2013 cabin standoff.
citation on file
Monica Quan
VICTIMAssistant basketball coach shot dead with her fiancé in Irvine on February 3, 2013.
citation on file
Keith Lawrence
VICTIMUSC campus public safety officer shot dead with his fiancée in Irvine on February 3, 2013.
citation on file
Emma Hernandez
VICTIMNewspaper deliverer shot and wounded by LAPD officers who mistook her vehicle for Dorner's on February 7, 2013; received a settlement.
citation on file
Margie Carranza
VICTIMDaughter of Emma Hernandez, wounded in the hand by LAPD officers in the same February 7, 2013 shooting.
citation on file
Michael Crain
VICTIMRiverside police officer killed in an ambush shooting on February 7, 2013.
citation on file
David Perdue
VICTIMSurfer whose vehicle was struck by a police cruiser and fired upon by Torrance police on February 7, 2013 after being mistaken for Dorner's truck; injured in the collision.
citation on file
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- In February 2013, former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner killed four people, including a police officer's daughter and her fiancé and two law enforcement officers, during a manhunt across Southern California that ended in his death after a standoff at a burning cabin near Big Bear Lake.
- Where did the shootings happen?
- Cabin near Big Bear Lake, San Bernardino Mountains, California, where the manhunt ended.
- Who was convicted?
- Christopher Dorner (Former LAPD officer charged by Riverside County prosecutors with murder of a police officer and attempted murder of three other officers; died by self-inflicted gunshot during the February 12, 2013 cabin standoff before trial.).
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: solved.
Sources
- Christopher Dorner shootings and manhuntwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
- Contemporaneous coverage — Los Angeles Timesnews · Los Angeles Times · 2026-07-07
- Contemporaneous coverage — ABC Newsnews · ABC News · 2026-07-07
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