Gunman kills three police officers in US

A police officer was battling for his life today and three more were dead in the US after a man on parole with an “extensive criminal history” opened fire at a routine traffic stop, and hours later gunned down members of a police commando team searching for him.

The gunman was also killed.

The mayhem began yeterday afternoon, when two motorcycle patrol officers stopped a 1995 Buick sedan in east Oakland, California. The driver opened fire, killing one officer and seriously wounding another.

The gunman then fled on foot, police said, leading to an intense manhunt. About two hours later, officers got an anonymous tip that the gunman was inside a nearby apartment building.

A police commando team entered an apartment to clear and search it when the gunman shot them with an assault rifle, police said, killing two more officers and wounding a third.

Members of the police team returned fire, killing the 26-year-old gunman.

Tension between police and the community has risen steadily since the fatal shooting of an unarmed 22-year-old by a transit police officer at an Oakland train station on January 1.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger planned to fly to Oakland today from Washington DC, to meet with police and officials.