2 Officers and Suspect Wounded in La Habra

A man who’d been pulled over on a routine traffic stop shot and wounded two La Habra police officers Monday before fleeing into a crowded mini mall, where he was wounded in a gun battle with authorities, officials said.

Neither officer suffered life-threatening injuries in the shootings, which shattered the afternoon calm of this small suburban community in northern Orange County. The suspect was listed in critical condition at L.A. County-USC Medical Center with multiple gunshot wounds.

The first incident occurred about 4:30 p.m., when officers pulled over a Toyota 4-Runner in front of a liquor store near the intersection of Walnut Street and West La Habra Boulevard, police said.

As patrol officers conducted a background check on the vehicle, the driver reportedly surrendered to police while the passenger jumped from the SUV and began firing.

Bullets struck the officers and slammed into surrounding buildings as bystanders dived for cover, police and witnesses said. As the gunman escaped, officers called for help over the radio, saying that they had been caught in a gun battle.

“We were playing inside the house, and all of a sudden I heard two big bangs,” said Randy Ziga, 12. “I didn’t think it was bad, and then I heard the cops.”

Within minutes, law enforcement officers from nearly a dozen agencies swarmed the scene, combing businesses and homes for the escaped gunman. Residents said they watched in amazement as officers in cruisers and armored vehicles rolled down the street and helicopters hovered overhead.

“Then I saw SWAT come in, in their big truck,” Randy said. “That’s when I went inside because I thought they were going to start shooting. I was frightened.”

As police conducted their search, the wounded officers were evacuated to a neighborhood schoolyard, then taken by helicopter to nearby hospitals. La Habra Police spokeswoman Cindy Knapp said late Monday that one officer was wounded in the lower abdomen; the second was struck near the shoulder, and he was doing “quite well.”

One of the officers was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where spokeswoman Leanne Spaide said he was “awake and alert and undergoing diagnostic tests.”

Authorities did not release the names of the officers.

Police had been focusing their search in the area of two adjacent strip malls, when they got a call from a business owner in the 500 block of West La Habra Boulevard almost an hour after the first shooting.

The owner told police that there was a man inside “acting very nervous and sweaty,” authorities said. Fullerton police, who provide backup to the small La Habra department, responded.

As Fullerton officers surrounded the business, the suspect burst out of the back exit. “He ran outside pretty much into the arms of the officers,” said Fullerton Sgt. Steve Matson. The gunman began firing, then was knocked to the ground by officers’ gunshots, authorities said.

The gunman was identified as Andrew R. Gonzalez, 28, of Inglewood. Police identified the driver of the vehicle as David Landa Mosqueda, 30, of Los Angeles. Officials described both as parolees with “violent histories,” including robbery and weapon charges.

The attacks on the officers and the overwhelming response by surrounding agencies drew scores of onlookers who lined up along the street to view the spectacle.

Area resident Robert Villa, 54, arrived home shortly after the shooting and was perplexed by the throng.

“I got off the bus and didn’t know what was going on,” Villa said. “This is going to be the talk of the town around here. This is a pretty quiet place.”

Times staff writer David Haldane contributed to this report.