30 Shots Fired From Car Being Chased by Police
About 30 shots from a semi-automatic rifle were fired at a police car during a high-speed chase and shoot-out in residential and industrial areas of Culver City early Saturday morning, police said.
Two passengers in the car police were pursuing steered the auto while the gunman, who was in the driver’s seat, fired out the window, police said.
Culver City Police Officer Mark Hagen, 24, was slightly injured by glass debris when a bullet penetrated the window of the marked patrol car he was driving, Police Sgt. Ed Baughan said. Hagen was treated at Brotman Medical Center and released Saturday. His companion, Officer Susan Snyder, 22, was uninjured.
The Chevrolet driven by the suspects later was found abandoned at Western Avenue and Adams Boulevard. There were blood stains on the front seat and driver’s door, leading police to believe that at least one of the occupants had been wounded.
The incident began at 3:45 a.m. when the officers attempted to stop the car in a commercial area at Helms Avenue and Jacobs Street. When Hagen turned on the siren, the driver leaned out the window and fired four to five shots at the police car, police said.
The two officers fired nine shots at the car during the chase that ended when their car became disabled.
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