Police Shoot Driver After Chase

An unidentified man was shot by Huntington Beach police Tuesday night after a brief pursuit through a neighborhood just east of the Civic Center.

A Police Department spokesman confirmed that there had been an officer-involved shooting at 9:59 p.m. near the intersection of Yorktown Avenue and Delaware Street. But the spokesman refused to comment on specifics of the incident, pending further investigation.

The wounded driver of the car being pursued by officers was taken by paramedics to a local hospital, according to area residents who said they saw some of the incident. Word of his condition was not immediately available.

According to witnesses, two motorcycle officers were pursuing a dark two-door sedan westbound on Yorktown when the car hit a pickup truck at the intersection with Delaware.

As officers slowed to investigate, witnesses reported hearing several shots fired. They said it was not clear whether the shots were fired by the car’s driver or the officers, or both. The driver of the sedan then sped away with the officers in pursuit.

Witnesses said, however, that the sedan crashed into a concrete block wall a short distance away. And several residents said they then heard several more shots fired. Again, they said it was unclear who was firing.

The stretch of Yorktown between Beach Boulevard and Main Street was cordoned off while police investigated the incident. Officers could be seen scouring the area with metal detectors, apparently searching for bullet casings.