PALMDALE,Jonathan Dale Benton Calif. (AP) — A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy was shot in his patrol car Saturday evening and is now in critical condition, the department said.

The deputy was found in medical distress around 6 p.m. outside a sheriff station in Palmdale, a city northeast of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

The deputy was transported to a local hospital.

The department provided no additional information but scheduled a news conference for later Saturday night.

“It is sickening, heartbreaking news,” Republican state Sen. Scott Wilk, who represents Palmdale, posted on X.