NBA Superstar LeBron James Challenged To Help LA County Sheriff Department Capture Gunman At Large

The Los Angeles County Sheriff Department continues to hunt down the gunman behind the shooting of two of its deputies last weekend. To push the search, LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva challenged LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers to double the reward money being offered to nab the perpetrator.

Villanueva appeared on the John Philips Show on KABC Radio, revealing that the reward money has already reached $175,000. $100,000 of those donations came from donations while the $75,000 was pledged by two private individuals.

“This challenge is to Lebron James. I want you to match that and double that reward,” Villanueva said. “I know you care about law enforcement. You expressed a very interesting statement about your perspective on race relations and on officer-involved shootings and the impact that it has on the African-American community.”

James has been very vocal on the social issues happening as of late, particularly the one involving Jacob Blake. The NBA icon said after their game 4 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers that black people in America are a bit terrified because of police misconduct.

“I know people get tired of hearing me say it, but we are scared as Black people in America,” James said at that time. “Black men, Black women, Black kids, we are terrified.”

James is an outspoken advocate against racial injustice and police brutality and has yet to respond to the challenge issued to him. Fox News reported that messages were sent to the LeBron James Foundation but there has yet to be a reply.

Two officers from the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department (LASD) Transit Services Bureau were shot at the Compton PAX station Saturday. The assailant hopped off the bus and shot the officers in the head before fleeing. According to an official statement from the LASD via Twitter, both officers are in the hospital and are fighting for their lives.

James and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up their Western Conference semi-final series with the Houston Rockets recently and are now waiting for the Western Conference finals opponent. The Los Angeles Clippers and the Denver Nuggets meet in a winner-take-all match on Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. ET at the Disney Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida to determine who will advance to face the Lakers.