LAPD Officer Shoots Fleeing Suspect

A Los Angeles police officer shot and wounded a 17-year-old boy suspected of an attempted carjacking Monday morning, authorities said.

The suspect was taken to California Hospital Medical Center, where he underwent surgery for at least two bullet wounds to the side of his body, said Lt. Paul Vernon, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department.

The victims of the abortive carjacking flagged down a patrol officer at 49th Street and Broadway and told him the assailant had a gun, Vernon said. As the officer approached the suspect, he ran away.

The officer fired a total of three shots on two occasions as he pursued the suspect, Vernon said, with the first occurring at 9:10 a.m. on 49th Street just east of Broadway. After a short foot chase, the officer fired at the suspect again in the 200 block of West 49th Street, where the suspect dropped a gun, which was recovered, police said.

The suspect fled across the street to a residential property on 48th Street and hid. A police dog found him about 10:20 a.m., Vernon said.

Neither the victims of the attempted carjacking nor any officers were injured.

The Newton Division officer who fired the shots is on administrative duty pending an investigation by the Force Investigation Division, which handles officer-involved shootings, Vernon said.