A suspect in the shooting deaths of two officers in California had symbols linked to the extremist Boogaloo movement, a loosely knit group of heavily armed, anti-government extremists, US Attorney David Anderson said.
The Boogaloo Bois or Boys are an emerging incarnation of extremism that seems to defy easy categorization. Boogaloo members appear to hold conflicting ideological views, with some identifying as anarchists and others rejecting formal titles. Some pockets of the group have espoused White supremacy while others reject it.
Carrillo, an active-duty staff sergeant stationed at Travis Air Force Base at the time of the shooting, is also the suspect in the June 6 death of a Santa Cruz sheriff’s deputy, Sheriff Jim Hart said last week.
“The Boogaloo term is used by extremists to reference a violent uprising, or impending civil war in the United States,” Anderson said.
“Pat Underwood was murdered because he wore a uniform,” Anderson said.
An attorney for Carrillo said he wants people to resist “the urge to rush to judgment and wait until the facts come out.”
“There is more to Mr. Carrillo than the picture painted by law enforcement,” Jeffrey Stotter told CNN.
Carrillo “was a loyal and good airman and has also suffered severe personal loss in the suicide of his wife two years ago,” said Stotter, who met with Carrillo on Tuesday. “He’s the father of two children who have not only lost their mother, but now they’ve lost their father.”
During a shootout with Santa Cruz sheriff’s deputies on June 6, Carrillo used his own blood to write Boogaloo phrases on a vehicle he allegedly carjacked while trying to flee, Anderson said, describing evidence found in the case.
Investigators believe Carrillo used a “ghost gun,” a homemade AR-15 type rifle, in both the Oakland and Santa Cruz shootings, according to the complaint. The rifle was recovered in the Santa Cruz investigation.
