photos : a tense manhunt amid tragic deaths that day four years ago , authorities now allege , was the start of a free fall into despair and deadly violence for dorner 's termination hearing and requested anonymity because of safety concerns .
photos : a tense manhunt amid tragic deaths " we 're all just stressed , " said today .
 
friends and acquaintances who knew dorner before he became a police officer struggled to reconcile the
even before authorities had confirmed that the torched pickup truck discovered on a quiet forest road belonged to suspected gunman christopher dorner , 33 , officials had ordered an emergency lockdown of local businesses , homes and the town 's popular ski resorts .
dorner , 33 , a former los angeles police officer and navy reservist , sparked a region - wide dragnet after allegedly killing two civilians on sunday and releasing an angry " manifesto " airing grievances against the lapd and warning of coming the bustling winter resort of big bear took on the appearance of a ghost town thursday as surveillance aircraft buzzed overhead and police in tactical gear and carrying rifles patrolled mountain roads in convoys of suvs , while others stood guard along major intersections .
police ordered the lockdown on the day christopher dorner was fired from the los angeles police department , officials took the unusual step of summoning armed guards to stand watch at his disciplinary hearing downtown .
alleged cop - killer christopher dorner has vanished .
wherever dorner is , law enforcement officials fear that he may be heavily armed , possibly with a powerful .50 caliber rifle , which shoots five - inch long bullets that can pierce bullet proof vests and vehicles , as well as a shoulder - fired missile launcher .