San Diego police Chief William Lansdowne speaks about the Officer Jeremy Henwood at a press conference, Sunday Aug. 7, 2011, in San Diego. Henwood was shot in the face in an apparently unprovoked attack on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011, and died Sunday Aug. 7, 2011. Investigators found a suicide note left by the suspect who fired the gun. (AP Photo/The San Diego Union-Tribune, Howard Lipin)
San Diego police Chief William Lansdowne speaks about the Officer Jeremy Henwood at a press conference, Sunday Aug. 7, 2011, in San Diego. Henwood was shot in the face in an apparently unprovoked attack on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011, and died Sunday Aug. 7, 2011. Investigators found a suicide note left by the suspect who fired the gun. (AP Photo/The San Diego Union-Tribune, Howard Lipin)
A San Diego Police officer stands near a suspected black car on Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011, in which one occupant allegedly shot a San Diego police officer in the head Saturday, Aug. 6, as he waited for a traffic light in San Diego. Officer Jeremy Henwood was shot in the face in an apparently unprovoked attack on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011, and died Sunday Aug. 7, 2011. Investigators found a suicide note left by the suspect who fired the gun. (AP Photo/The San Diego Union-Tribune, Howard Lipin)
This undated photo provided by the San Diego Police Department shows Officer Jeremy Henwood. Henwood was shot in the face in an apparently unprovoked attack on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011, and died Sunday Aug. 7, 2011. Investigators found a suicide note left by the suspect who fired the gun. (AP Photo/San Diego Police Department via The San Diego Union-Tribune)
SAN DIEGO (AP) ? An officer shot in the face in an apparently unprovoked attack died Sunday, and investigators found a suicide note left by the suspect who was killed as police tried to arrest him, authorities said.
Jeremy Henwood, a four-year veteran of the department, died a day after being shot while sitting alone in his patrol car in San Diego, Police Chief William Lansdowne said at an afternoon news conference at police headquarters.
"I could tell you that this was a senseless killing ... this was an assassination," Lansdowne said.
Henwood, 36, was a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. He had recently returned from a yearlong deployment in Afghanistan.
The armed suspect, Dejon Marquee White, 23, was tracked down by police after the attack Saturday and shot to death by officers as he tried to avoid arrest. Investigators said they had no motives for the shooting of the police officer. White wrote a two-page suicide note discovered at his apartment, but it didn't say how he was going to kill himself or why, according to police.
White was a suspect in another shooting earlier Saturday at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant 14 miles away in El Cajon and had eluded police after a high-speed chase.
Shortly after the restaurant shooting, Henwood was either stopped or moving slowly when a black Audi with temporary plates flashed its headlights and came alongside.
"According to witnesses, the suspect vehicle pulled up on the left side of the officer's vehicle, pointed a gun out of the passenger window and fired at the officer," a police statement said.
The witnesses used Henwood's radio to call for help and gave him first aid until paramedics arrived and took the injured officer to a local hospital.
A half hour after the attack, officers tracked the Audi to an apartment complex and saw a man with a shotgun get in the car and start to drive away. Several squad cars blocked the road and converged on him to make the arrest.
"The suspect grabbed the shotgun and several officers fired their weapons at him," the statement said.
The Audi rolled backward down the street and crashed into a fence. Officers pulled White from the car and called for paramedics. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A neighbor at the apartment complex told police that White said he had shot a police officer.
Police believed a second suspect was holed up inside White's apartment but found the unit was empty. Investigators said later that White was acting alone.
Martin Hanna, the victim of the earlier shooting at the restaurant in El Cajon, was sitting with his girlfriend in his vehicle in the parking lot when he was approached by a man carrying a shotgun, police said. The man shot Hanna in the face with a single round before he fled in the Audi, they said.
Investigators had not established any relationship between White and Hanna, who was expected to survive.
Minutes later, an officer who had no knowledge of the restaurant shooting spotted the Audi speeding and gave chase but abandoned the pursuit as it reached speeds of 100 mph.
White had a minor criminal record that included resisting arrest and petty theft, Lansdowne said.
"We are saddened by this senseless and cowardly act that has taken away a true hero," said a written statement from Brian R. Marvel, president of the San Diego Police Officers Association, which established a trust fund Sunday for Henwood's family.
"Having recently returned from deployment in Afghanistan, Officer Henwood was continuing to serve the community just as he had served his country ? with honor and respect. He will be remembered for those qualities," he said.
Henwood's killing comes as the department copes with the recent deaths of two off-duty officers. Det. Donna Williams, 52, was stabbed to death July 18 along with her daughter. Williams' 24-year-old son, Brian, who had a history of mental illness, was charged with two counts of murder.
David Hall, a 14-year department veteran, died Aug. 1 of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Hall, a motorcycle traffic officer, was awaiting trial on drunken driving and hit-and-run charges.
Henwood was the second San Diego officer to be killed while on duty in the last ten months. In July, three people were charged with murder in connection with an October 2010 shootout that killed Officer Christopher Wilson, a 17-year department veteran, and two others. The 50-year-old father of two was the first San Diego officer to be killed in the line of duty in more than six years.
"This tragedy is another grim reminder that our police officers put their lives on the line every day to protect our community, and we are grateful for their courage and sacrifice," San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders said in a statement Sunday.
Henwood's parents arrived in San Diego Sunday from Texas. Funeral arrangements were pending.
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Associated Press writer Christopher Weber contributed to this report from Los Angeles.
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