Gunman Killed, Officer Wounded in Shootout

A shootout between police and a group of suspected auto thieves in Mission Hills early Tuesday left one man dead and a police officer seriously wounded.

The San Fernando officer, whose name was withheld, is 25 years old and has been on the force three years. He was shot in the shoulder and leg and was in serious but stable condition at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Horace Frank said.

Frank said police returned fire at the 22-year-old man who wounded the officer. The man collapsed as he tried to run, and died in the driveway of a Halbrent Avenue home, police said. His name was withheld.

A second suspect was arrested about a block away.

Police searched into the afternoon for one and possibly two other suspects.

The shootout followed a pursuit near Sepulveda Boulevard and Chatsworth Street that began at 4:15 a.m. when a tip was called in about a stolen Ford pickup.

The suspects drove off in the truck after police saw them in the 600 block of O’Melveny Avenue in San Fernando.

The chase continued for about 11/2 miles, until the truck crashed into a concrete median on Sepulveda Boulevard and the suspects fled on foot through residential streets, police said. A number of San Fernando officers gave chase.

One suspect hid behind cars in a driveway in the 10600 block of Halbrent Avenue and fired several shots at the officers with a semiautomatic handgun, police said.

Police exchanged fire with the suspects when the officers tried to rescue the wounded officer, Frank said.

All the suspects are believed to be gang members, robbery-homicide detectives said.

Stacy Lip, 29, awoke to shouting on Halbrent Avenue and a volley of 12 to 18 shots, she said.

“I could hear [the police] screaming, ‘Get down, get down,’”said Lip, a singer in a rock band. “It was like a war. There was blood on my driveway and a bullet in my car.”

Lip said she walked outside and saw the dead man on the driveway alongside two guns and a trail of blood. The lawn and much of the cul-de-sac were roped off with yellow police tape.

In their search for the other suspects, police blocked traffic for hours in a broad area bounded by Haskell Avenue to the west, San Fernando Mission Boulevard to the north, Devonshire Street to the south and Memory Park Avenue to the east.

Authorities also closed exits to the San Diego Freeway from the Ronald Reagan Freeway.

Helicopters, SWAT teams and dogs took part in the nine-hour search, which also involved Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies.

Dozens of residents were asked to stay in their homes. Some watched the action from their front lawns, chatting over the din of helicopters. A few businesses in the search area also closed.

“This kind of seems like a waste of time,” said Chatsworth Street resident Frank Salazar, who was wakened by the gunshots.

“I bet [the suspect] is just kicking it in someone’s apartment, wearing pajamas and watching this all go down on the news.”

Karen Van Antwerp, 31, shut herself in her Sepulveda Boulevard house with her 14-month-old daughter, Elena.

“It’s still a scary situation,” said Van Antwerp, a first-grade teacher who took a sick day from her Sylmar school.

“It’s not the best neighborhood, but we’re not used to things like this.”

Times staff writer Claire Luna contributed to this report.