UPDATED: A Salinas police officer has been shot and killed during a traffic stop.

Salinas Police Officer Jorge David Alvarado, who went by the first name JD, was shot and killed while on duty on Friday night, Feb. 25 at about 11:40pm. He was conducting a traffic stop near the intersection of East Market and Griffin Street, about a half-mile up the street from the Salinas Police Department. 

Alvarado, who worked for SPD for five years, was 30 years old.

The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office is the lead agency investigating, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings; investigators had a large portion of the area blocked off as they collected evidence overnight and into Saturday afternoon. 

By Saturday morning, a suspect was arrested and in custody; officials have not yet named the suspect.

"The officer stayed in the fight all the way to the end. He gave his life for it," Police Chief Roberto Filice said in a press conference Saturday afternoon. "Thanks to his actions, we were able to apprehend the suspect."

Filice joined other law enforcement and fire officials, as well as appointed and elected city officials in a tear-filled press conference on Saturday afternoon, followed by a somber ceremony to lower the flag to half-mast.

Responding officers describe a mix of grief and shock as they responded to the scene. It’s the first time in nearly 80 years that a Salinas police officer has been killed in the line of duty. 

Officers from a variety of nearby agencies responded and helped fill regular Salinas police duties overnight. Those agencies—including the Monterey County Sheriff's Office, Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, California Highway Patrol, and police departments for Marina, Pacific Grove and Watsonville—"provided the opportunity for Salinas police officers to have a brief respite," District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni said at the press conference Saturday afternoon.

"A tragedy such as this—the death of an officer while performing his duties—takes a huge toll on a police department," Pacioni said.

A critical incident response team, trained to respond to traumatic situations, was available to firefighters and police officers through the night. City Manager Steve Carrigan says the team will also be available to all city staff in the coming days.

Details around the traffic stop and shooting have not yet been released. Sources familiar with the investigation say the officer died immediately from his injuries at the scene.

“We are devastated, just devastated,” Mayor Kimbley Craig says. “We ask for the community to support and embrace Salinas police as we grieve the loss of one of our officers."

Community members created a small memorial of fresh flowers and notes of support in front of the police headquarters on Saturday morning, and supporters held Thin Blue Line flags. 

One of them is Donna Lizama, whose cousin works for Salinas PD. She didn't know Officer Alvarado personally, she says, "But I just want to show them support today." 

Agata Popęda and Daniel Dreifuss contributed to this report.