Officer Wounds Mugging Suspect

An off-duty Inglewood police officer shot and wounded one of two men who were allegedly trying to rob a 76-year-old woman on a city sidewalk Thursday.

Inglewood police, who declined to release the names of the officer or the wounded man, said the suspect was hit in the leg by a single bullet after he brandished a handgun at the officer.

The incident occurred near the 300 block of East Hillcrest Avenue around 9 a.m. The officer heard the woman’s cries for help and saw two men trying to wrestle her to the ground. The officer, according to police, ordered the assailants to release the woman, but one fled on foot while the other tried to hold on to the victim.

When the attacker drew a handgun from his waistband, police said, the officer fired. The wounded man was taken to a local hospital.