128 Deputies Take Part in Shooting Raids; 7 Arrested

Aided by helicopters and search dogs, 128 Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies raided 13 locations in the Norwalk area early Thursday and arrested seven people, including a youthful suspect in a freeway shooting in which an off-duty deputy was injured.

The coordinated, two-hour operation was staged to locate and arrest suspected gang members thought to be connected with the freeway shooting, a sheriff’s spokesman said. Deputies arrested five juveniles and two men and seized 10 weapons.

The suspects--ranging in age from 14 to the early 20s--were booked on suspicion of receiving stolen property and possession of illegal weapons. The identities of the adults were not immediately released.

The seized weapons included two illegal sawed-off shotguns and a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol thought to be the one used in the March 25 shooting on the San Gabriel River (605) Freeway.

The gun was found at the home of the minor suspected of firing it. He was taken into custody for investigation of attempted murder.

The off-duty deputy, whose name has not been released, was driving south on the freeway when he was apparently mistaken for a rival gang member, sheriff’s spokesman Dick Dinsmoor said.

Investigators said a car carrying five people pulled alongside and a passenger pointed a gun.

The deputy swerved behind the gunman’s car and noted the license number. To attract attention, he then swerved across all lanes of traffic. But as he approached Firestone Boulevard, the other car pulled up on the right side, and a shot was fired, shattering glass in the deputy’s car.

The 25-year-old officer got off the freeway, sought help and underwent surgery to repair artery and tendon damage to his right hand.

Using the license number noted by the deputy, investigators traced it to its owner, an 18-year-old reputed gang member, who was arrested last month on suspicion of attempted murder.