LOS ANGELES (AP) - Thousands of police officers in Southern California and Nevada are hunting for a disgruntled former Los Angeles officer.

Christopher Dorner is believed to have gone on a deadly shooting rampage, after warning in an online posting that he would be targeting police.

Officials say they've assigned more than 40 protection details to keep watch over possible targets. And they've issued a statewide "officer safety warning." Three people have been killed in the shootings, including a police officer and the daughter of a former police captain.

Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck says the fugitive ex-police officer has multiple weapons including an assault rifle. He says the massive manhunt for Dorner may be the largest in the department's history.

Dorner is suspected of murdering a couple last weekend, killing one Riverside officer and wounding another early today, and wounding an LAPD officer a short time earlier.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)