Burglary Suspect Hurt When Police Officer’s Gun Fires

A burglary suspect was shot through both legs when a police officer’s gun went off while the officer searched for the man in bushes beside a Granada Hills home, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said.

The shooting occurred shortly before 11 a.m. Friday when police responded to a burglary at a house in the 11600 block of Collett Avenue.

Julio Martinez, 18, was wounded in the incident and taken to Granada Hills Community Hospital. He was later transferred to the jail ward of the County-USC Medical Center, where he was booked on a burglary charge.

Gustavo Gutierrez, 24, was booked on a burglary charge at the Devonshire station, police said.

The two officers who responded to a neighbor’s report of a burglary spotted a broken window and could see and hear someone inside the house, police said. The residents of the house were not home.

The officers then saw the suspects climb out a side window, authorities said. They told investigators from the Officer-Involved Shooting unit that the suspects acted as if they knew that police were there.

Officer Daniel Taylor, 51, a 21-year department veteran, had his 9-millimeter service revolver drawn as he searched dense bushes alongside the house. Police said the weapon apparently discharged accidentally, hitting Martinez in the leg.