Ambushed LAPD detectives didn't recognize gunman; manhunt continues

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An LAPD investigator collects a knife stuck in a tree as they look for evidence at an apartment building located at the corner of Washington Boulevard and Buckingham Road in Lafayette Square. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Evidence is examined in a van near the shooting scene. A suspect apparently confronted a woman with her baby shortly after an early morning shooting of two LAPD detectives. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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An officer examines the crime scene. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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SWAT officers work to clear a neighborhood near West Washington and South Rimpau boulevards. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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SWAT officers and a police dog prepare to search a neighborhood for the shooter. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Police officers guard the area surrounding the LAPD’s Wilshire Division station, where a gunman fired on two undercover detectives. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Crime scene investigators examine the car that two LAPD detectives were in when a gunman fired on them outside the LAPD’s Wilshire Division station. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Neighbors gather to look at the shot-up car that two LAPD detectives were in when they were ambushed outside the police department’s Wilshire Division station. The detectives suffered minor injuries and returned to duty later in the morning. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team travels on Rimpau Boulevard in the Mid-City area during the search for a gunman who fired at two LAPD detectives. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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LAPD SWAT officers search homes in the 4800 block of St. Elmo Drive. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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LAPD SWAT officers search homes in the 4800 block of St. Elmo Drive. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A police officer stops traffic at a roadblock at Venice and Redondo boulevards in L.A.’s Mid-City neighborhood as the LAPD searches for a gunman who opened fire on two detectives outside the Wilshire Division station. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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The scene outside the LAPD’s Wilshire Division station, where two detectives were attacked by a gunman early Tuesday morning. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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LAPD officers talk to a man at a roadblock on Venice Blvd. as police search for a gunman who opened fire on two detectives outside the Wilshire Division station. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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LAPD vehicles dot Venice Boulevard in L.A.’s Mid-City neighborhood as officers search for a gunman who opened fire on two detectives outside the Wilshire Division station. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A motorist passes LAPD officers on Venice Boulevard as they search for a gunman who opened fire on two detectives outside the Wilshire Division station. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Officers check maps near the shooting scene. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

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LAPD motorcycle officers stream through a roadblock on Venice Boulevard to join the search for a gunman who opened fire on two detectives outside the Wilshire Division station. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A police officer holding a shotgun stops traffic at a roadblock as the LAPD searches for a gunman who opened fire on two detectives outside the Wilshire Division station. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Venice Boulevard in L.A.’s Mid-City neighborhood is empty as police officers search for a gunman who opened fire on two detectives outside the Wilshire Division station. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

By Andrew Blankstein, Emily Foxhall and Joseph Serna

June 25, 2013 2:38 PM PT

Los Angeles police have questioned and released 10 people but still haven’t apprehended the gunman who fired on two undercover detectives outside the Wilshire Division station early Tuesday morning, authorities said.

The detectives did not recognize the suspect, Cmdr. Andy Smith said.

A massive manhunt has been underway since about 4:30 a.m., when an unknown gunman attacked two undercover burglary detectives in an unmarked vehicle as they were waiting for the gate to open into the station parking lot.

The suspect fired at them from behind, shattering windows in the car. He then fled on foot. The two veteran detectives suffered minor injuries, either graze wounds from bullets, shrapnel or glass. They are back on duty and working on the investigation.

Police have scaled back the manhunt and are continuing to shrink the search area, which has shut down major streets and backed up traffic in the area.

“This was a blatant attempt to assassinate two of the people who protect this community,” police Chief Charlie Beck said at a police commission meeting Tuesday morning.

At its height, the manhunt involved some 200 officers, a SWAT team and air and K-9 units from the LAPD and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Police locked down more than 25 blocks around the substation near Venice Boulevard and La Brea Avenue north of the 10 Freeway.

When K-9 units finish their sweeps Tuesday afternoon, LAPD officials said they expected the perimeter to be collapsed even further. Most streets would reopen, but Venice was expected to remain closed from La Brea to near San Vicente Boulevard.

Patrol officers were expected to return to normal duty. Detectives from the Robbery-Homicide Division and the Force Investigation Division were expected to take over and continue canvassing for clues and witnesses.

On Tuesday afternoon, officers remained out in force -- rolling through the streets in an armored vehicle, knocking on doors and searching for any sign of the suspect.

Residents, many armed with cellphones and video cameras, gathered outside to take in the drama.
Along Lomita Avenue, Anthony Ruiz, 11, sat on the back of his dad’s pickup truck with his friend, Gustavo Ramirez, 10, and watched the spectacle unfold. An armored vehicle drove past, carrying helmet-clad sheriff’s deputies. The deputies occasionally hopped off to search outside homes.

“It’s like a movie,” Anthony said. “It’s a little scary because you don’t know what’s going to come next.”

Down the street, 19-year-old Dayana Vasquez said the lockdown forced her to miss a class at West L.A. Community College and her afternoon shift at work was also in question.

But she said she didn’t mind the inconvenience.

“Seeing this, I feel secure that at least they’re trying their best to find who did this,” Vasquez said. “They’re trying to make us feel protected. That’s a good thing.”

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Twitter: @anblanx

andrew.blankstein@latimes.com