Police search Westlake for man in connection with homicide case; nearby schools on temporary lockdown

Three school campuses were briefly locked down Wednesday morning as police in the western part of west of downtown Los Angeles chased a suspect wanted in connection with a killing.

A joint FBI and LAPD task force was following a suspect when he “dumped his car in an alley and fled on foot” around 9:25 a.m., said Det. Ross Nemeroff, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman.

Officers set up a perimeter in the area of 4th and 5th streets between Hartford Avenue and Bixel Street to try to find the suspect, Nemeroff said. Police did not find the man, who is described as about 6 feet tall and 200 pounds, with a tattoo of a dollar sign on his neck, he said.

Three campuses in that area — Gratts Elementary School, Gratts Early Education Center and the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex — were placed on lockdown for about half an hour, Los Angeles Schools Police Sgt. Julie Spry said.

“The area’s safe at this point,” Nemeroff said. Police would not provide information on the slaying the suspect is believed to have committed.

Reach Sonali Kohli at Sonali.Kohli@latimes.com or on Twitter @Sonali_Kohli.