By Lookout Staff

May 16, 2016 -- When an armed gunman, who already had taken five lives, entered the busy Santa Monica College Library in June 2013, the three officers who arrived at the scene were forced to quickly respond.

The officers formulated a plan, entering the library together and fatally shooting John Zawahri, who had gone on a shooting spree across Santa Monica, before he could take more lives. ("Fifth Victim Dead in Santa Monica Shooting Spree," June 10, 2013).

Salas, Sparks and Bottenfield already have received California's Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, the state's highest honor, as well as medals from the City, the College and regional authorities.

Officer Robert Parks (left) and Officer Jason Salas. Photo Credit: City of Santa Monica

The incident, which lasted approximately thirteen minutes, capped a violent spree that began when Zawahri fatally shot his father and brother at their Santa Monica home.

The gunman, who was armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, a .44 caliber handgun and 1,300 rounds of rifle ammunition, then carjacked a passing motorist and ordered her to go to the college campus, where he took three more lives.

He then entered the library and began firing at a group of employees barricaded in a storage room, officials said. He turned and aimed the rifle at the three officers before being fatally shot.

Salas, Sparks and Bottenfield are among 13 public safety officers who will be awarded the Medal of Valor for having "exhibited exceptional courage, regardless of personal safety, in the attempt to save or protect others from harm."

Authorized by the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act of 2001, the medal is the highest national award for valor presented to a public safety officer.

Candidates are nominated by the chiefs or directors of their employing agencies and recommended by the Medal of Valor Review Board to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP).

Los Angeles Police Department Officer Donald Thompson also will receive a medal Monday for his "courageous action to save an accident victim" on Christmas 2013.

"While off duty, Officer Thompson traversed two freeway dividers and endured first- and second-degree burns while pulling an unconscious man to safety from a car moments before it became engulfed in flames," the White House statement said.

The ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. in the White House East Room.