COMPTON - Two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies are in critical condition after they were shot multiple times as they sat in their vehicle, the authorities said.

The gunman remained at large, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. The two officers were shot at a metro station in Compton. The department said in on Twitter that the deputies had been "ambushed."

The deputies, a man, 24, and a woman, 31, who is the mother of a 6-year-old boy, were taken to a hospital, where they underwent surgery, department officials said.

Alex Villanueva, the Los Angeles County sheriff, said the two deputies were sworn into office 14 months ago.

The department posted a video to its Twitter feed showing the gunman approaching the passenger side of the car, firing and then running away.

Reginald Jones-Sawyer, a California state assemblyman from South Los Angeles, called the Saturday night shootings "an unprovoked, cowardly act."

No suspected motive was given. Sheriff Villanueva, in comments to reporters late Saturday, spoke obliquely about attitudes toward the police.

"This is just a sober reminder that this is a dangerous job and you know actions, words have consequences, and our job does not get any easier because people don't like law enforcement," he said.

Story Date: September 21, 2020