Nearly a year after a gunman opened fire on Baldwin Park police officers in broad daylight, killing a nine-year veteran of the force and a 43-year-old father of two, authorities have released the bodycam video that captures the attack in devastating detail. Eduardo Roberto Medina Berumen, 22, faces two counts of murder and is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.
The 15-minute video, posted by the Baldwin Park Police Department, shows the chaotic sequence that unfolded on May 31, 2025, on the 4200 block of Filhurst Avenue. Officer Samuel Riveros, 35, arrived moments after the first responding officer and immediately began urging nearby residents to get to safety. As he moved along the sidewalk, he was shot down.
Riveros was eventually rushed to a hospital by fellow officers. He was pronounced dead. Darius Wong, 43, a father of two who had been on his way to a housewarming party, had already been fatally shot before police even arrived.
The footage released by the department lays out the timeline in grim, sequential detail. Officers responded to reports of a shooting on Filhurst Avenue. The suspect began firing the instant the first officer pulled up. Bullets struck a patrol car, and one officer was injured by shattered glass from the impact.
Then Riveros arrived. He did what cops are trained to do, moved toward danger, tried to get civilians clear. He was hit while doing it.
Police Chief Robert Lopez described what happened next in the department's video:
"After striking the officer, Berumen continued firing rounds at the other officers, preventing them from immediately pulling the wounded officer and the initial victim to safety for medical treatment."
That detail matters. Berumen's sustained gunfire didn't just wound Riveros, it kept other officers pinned, unable to reach either Riveros or Wong. Both men lay exposed while rounds continued.
Audio from the scene captured officers shouting repeated commands: "Drop the gun!" Even after being struck by police gunfire himself, Berumen remained armed with a rifle as officers confronted him. He was ultimately taken into custody.
Riveros had served the Baldwin Park Police Department for nine years. He was 35 years old. The bodycam footage bearing his name is now the public record of his final moments, moments spent not retreating, not waiting for backup, but moving toward gunfire to warn residents to get clear.
That kind of conduct used to be universally honored. In an era when ambush-style attacks on law enforcement continue to make headlines, Riveros's actions deserve to be remembered plainly: he ran toward danger and paid for it with his life.
Wong, the civilian victim, was 43. He left behind two children. He wasn't involved in any dispute. He was walking to a party. He was in the wrong place when a gunman decided to start shooting.
Berumen faces multiple charges, including the two murder counts. The full list of additional charges has not been detailed publicly. His court appearance is set for Thursday, though the specific court has not been identified in available reporting.
No motive has been publicly stated for the shooting. The footage does not explain why Berumen opened fire. What it does show is the speed and lethality of the attack, a suspect who began shooting the moment police arrived and who did not stop even after taking return fire.
Cases like this one are not isolated. In recent months, officers across the country have faced similar violence. A New Hampshire gunman shot an officer and triggered a massive manhunt before being killed in an exchange of gunfire. In Oklahoma, a deputy was killed and a police chief wounded when a suspect opened fire during a welfare check.
The pattern is consistent. Officers respond to calls. They arrive. They are met with gunfire before they can assess the scene. The question is whether the public and its elected leaders are paying attention.
The Baldwin Park Police Department released the video nearly a year after the shooting. The decision to make it public, and to present it in a structured, 15-minute format, is itself a statement. Departments that release bodycam footage of officers being killed are not doing it for entertainment. They are doing it so people understand what the job actually looks like.
The growing push for bodycam transparency in law enforcement cuts in multiple directions. Cameras hold officers accountable. They also hold the public accountable, accountable for knowing what officers face, accountable for understanding why the men and women who wear the badge deserve more than indifference.
In this case, the footage shows an officer arriving, warning civilians, and being shot while doing it. It shows a chief describing how sustained gunfire prevented his officers from reaching a dying colleague. It shows commands to drop a weapon going unanswered. It shows the cost.
Riveros's bodycam recorded his own final act of service. Wong's family lost a father on a Saturday afternoon. Berumen, the man accused of both killings, is alive and headed to court.
The broader conversation about policing and public safety too often treats officers as abstractions, statistics in a policy debate. Footage like this strips the abstraction away. A 35-year-old cop moved toward a man with a rifle. He told people to run. Then he was killed.
Several details remain unclear. The type of rifle Berumen allegedly used has not been publicly identified. The full scope of charges beyond the two murder counts has not been released. No motive has been offered. The name of the officer injured by shattered glass has not been disclosed, nor has the identity of the first officer shown arriving on scene.
What is known is enough. Two people are dead. A nine-year veteran of the Baldwin Park Police Department gave his life trying to protect strangers. A father of two never made it to a housewarming party. And the man accused of killing them both will face a judge this week.
Samuel Riveros didn't hesitate. The least the rest of us can do is remember his name.
