Advertisement

Alleged LAPD station shooter had 2nd gun, ammo in car, police say

Share via

A gunman who allegedly walked into a Mid-City Los Angeles police station Monday night and opened fire with a handgun, injuring one officer, had a rifle and ammunition stored in his car, officials said.

The unidentified suspect walked into the LAPD Wilshire Division on Venice Boulevard near South La Brea Avenue at about 8:30 p.m. and engaged two officers in brief conversation before pulling out a handgun and opening fire, hitting one of them multiple times, police said.

Despite earlier reports, LAPD Officer Bruce Borihanh said Tuesday that the injured officer was not wearing a ballistic vest when he was hit.

Advertisement

It was not immediately clear how many times the officer was hit. Cmdr. Dennis Kato has said that one round went through the officer’s left arm. The officer was expected to survive after being treated at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center.

The suspect was wounded after the two officers returned the gunfire and remained in critical condition Tuesday.

Police did not release the wounded officer’s name but did say he was a seven-year veteran. The other officer involved in the shooting has been on the force for four years.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, detectives continued Tuesday to investigate a possible motive for the shooting. The suspect was believed to have said something about having a complaint prior to the shooting, but police officials have divulged little more.

A bomb squad that was at the station checked a vehicle that may have belonged to the shooter immediately after the incident, which occurred as a community meeting with about 35 people was underway in a room near the lobby, police said.

Daphne Brogdon, a member of the Olympic Park Neighborhood Council, was at the group’s monthly meeting inside the station’s West Bureau community room when the gunfire broke out.

Advertisement

After the shots began, Brogdon said she jumped up, ran to a lectern and dived beneath it, trying to shield herself.

“I hid, and everyone else just hit the ground,” she said. “Everyone was trying to be really quiet, and the shots continued.”

Advertisement