SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - More than 100 law enforcement officers from across Northern California responded without being asked after hearing that one of their own had been killed at the start of a shooting rampage, a sheriff's spokeswoman said Saturday.
Federal, state and local officers eventually swarmed six separate crime scenes across a 30-mile region encompassing two counties, Placer County sheriff's spokeswoman Dena Erwin said.
"It was an amazing response," Erwin said. "We don't call for those people, they just show up on their own because they know a fellow officer has been shot."
The officers from the state Department of Justice, FBI, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other agencies will be questioned as part of the complex, ongoing investigation into the attack on Friday that ended after two deputies were dead and two other victims were wounded.
Placer County Sheriff Ed Bonner described the crime scenes as "incredibly chaotic" and vowed to piece together details of the attacks.
"It's a very large-scale investigation for sure," Erwin said. "It's just a nightmare."
Two suspects were questioned for hours as authorities sought a motive for the shootings that began when Sacramento County sheriff's Deputy Danny Oliver, 47, was shot in the forehead with an assault rifle at close range as he checked out a suspicious car in a motel parking lot.
Deputies suspect the shooter was 34-year-old Marcelo Marquez of Salt Lake City, who was being held without bail on suspicion of two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and two counts of carjacking.
A woman with him, 38-year-old Janelle Marquez Monroy, was in custody on suspicion of attempted murder and two counts of carjacking.
No attorneys were listed for either suspect in jail records.
Krista Sorenson of Salt Lake City was confounded by the arrest of Marquez. He and his brother had mowed her lawn about four years ago.
"They were just super nice, decent hard-working, trying to figure out how to make a living," she said.
Oliver, a 15-year veteran of the department, left a wife and two daughters.
After Oliver was shot, his partner fired at the attackers, who drove about a mile before attempting a carjacking.
Driver Anthony Holmes, 38, of Sacramento was shot at least twice, including once in the head and was in fair condition.
The attackers then stole a pickup truck from a gardener and fled to Auburn in neighboring Placer County, about 30 miles northeast of Sacramento.
Two deputies who approached the pickup while it was parked alongside a road were shot with an AR-15-type assault weapon, Erwin said.
"Our guys didn't return fire - didn't have a chance, I don't think," Erwin said.
Homicide Detective Michael David Davis Jr., 42, died at a hospital 26 years to the day after his father, for whom he was named, died in the line of duty as a Riverside County deputy.
Deputy Jeff Davis was treated for a gunshot wound to the arm. The two deputies are not related.
A procession of law enforcement and fire protection vehicles escorted the detective's body to a chapel in Placer County on Saturday.
Erwin said she had known the slain homicide detective for 18 years. His wife works as an evidence technician for the department and his brother is a sergeant.
Davis was an avid Harley-Davidson motorcycle rider and doted on their four children, two of college age and two younger, she said.
Davis talked a lot about the father he lost in the line of duty at a young age, but didn't seem to let it affect him, Erwin said.
"Mike was quite a character," she said. "He was very funny. He didn't take things very seriously, maybe because he was a homicide detective for so long."
A search of Utah court records for Marquez shows a history of about 10 tickets and misdemeanor traffic offenses between 2003 and 2009. Those records list one speeding ticket for Monroy in 2009 and three small claims filings attempting to collect outstanding debts.
Associated Press Writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this story from Salt Lake City.