Suspect in custody after Reseda shootings wound man, LAPD officer

A 49-year-old man was in custody Monday after he allegedly shot another man in Reseda, then fired at Los Angeles police responding to the scene, injuring one officer, officials said.

Officers were called to the 7100 block of Yolanda Avenue shortly after 9:30 a.m. on a report of an assault with a deadly weapon, LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith said. There, officers found a man who had been shot in the arm and leg.

Witnesses pointed police to a man running from the scene, Smith said, and officers began to pursue the suspect. The man was on Capps Avenue just north of Sherman Way when he stopped and fired multiple rounds at police, Smith said.

At least one of the rounds struck a patrol car, injuring an officer in the arm, Smith said.

The suspect was taken into custody and a handgun recovered from the scene, Smith said. He told reporters at the scene it was not immediately known whether officers returned fire.

An initial LAPD account of the shooting sent to department officials and reviewed by The Times said the suspect was not injured.

The wounded officer and the first shooting victim were transported to an area hospital, Smith said. The officer was in stable condition; the initial victim was described as being in good condition when he left the scene, Smith said.

It was not immediately clear if the officer was struck by a bullet or shrapnel, or some type of broken glass or piece from the patrol car, Smith said. Officials expected more information after he was finished with X-rays, he added.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said via Twitter he was “thankful” the wounded officer “will be okay.”

“He is in good spirits,” the chief wrote. “Please keep him in your thoughts as he recovers.”

Smith said more than a dozen robbery-homicide detectives were canvassing the two shooting scenes for witnesses and evidence. The perimeter had downsized in the hours following the incidents, but Smith said he expected the immediate areas surrounding the scenes to be closed well into the afternoon.

Smith said investigators were looking into what prompted the initial shooting as well as the relationship between the suspect and first victim.

Staff writer Joel Rubin contributed to this account.

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