Two LAPD officers were injured in a shootout with a robbery suspect

By Libor Jan

Source Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Two Los Angeles police officers were injured and a suspect was arrested on Friday evening after a shooting broke out in South Los Angeles as officers investigated a possible robbery, authorities said.

According to police, the incident occurred around 9 p.m. Friday when two Southeast Los Angeles Division officers responded to a report of a robbery in the 9200 block of Central Avenue.

Police said that at one point during the encounter, officers exchanged fire with the armed suspect, who then fled the area. It was not immediately clear whether the suspect was struck.

A radio call for help brought a massive police response to the scene – including officers from neighboring departments – which straddles the border of Florence-Firestone, an unincorporated neighborhood north of Watts. Officers and police K9s searched the area late into the night; Police said the suspect was found and arrested several hours later.

Two unnamed officers were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police did not say where they were hit, but a law enforcement source told The Times that preliminary information shows one officer suffered a graze wound to his leg and the other suffered a shrapnel wound to his hand.

A law enforcement source told The Times on Friday that both officers were conscious and talking when they arrived at the hospital. They were released from the hospital on Saturday morning.

LAPD officers have opened fire 24 times this year compared to 32 during the same period in 2023, according to Los Angeles Police Department data.

According to a recent crime briefing by Los Angeles Interim Police Chief Dominic Choi, the Southeast area is one of several police departments in the city that have seen an increase in robberies.

In July, in the division’s area, a southeastern officer was injured in another police firing, during which a man allegedly opened fire with a machine gun on a police squad. Then the man was taken into custody, and approx he will be charged with attempted murder.

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