Classroom by classroom, police search for UCLA shooter
As police search for a suspect in a shooting at the UCLA campus, they are using a tried-and-true method that has been honed in numerous similar incidents.
According to authorities, two people were shot on campus and police are looking for a 6-foot-tall man dressed in all black. Hundreds of law enforcement authorities are converging on the sprawling campus, which covers 419 acres.
Alex Baquero, 31, was installing some fixtures and routers when he started hearing students running down the hall at Bolter Hall in UCLA.
At first he didn’t think anything of it, there’s been active shooting drills before.
But within an instant, all that change when police arrived. He heard a man yell “Run! Run! Run! Active shooter!”
UPDATE: Two dead in murder-suicide at UCLA; campus lockdown lifted >>
Students began running from all different places. Baquero ran into a room and locked himself in.
“It was such a madhouse, people were just trying to get out,” Baquero said.
Police generally search for suspects by forming into small teams using “grid by grid” system. In this case, officers are going classroom to classroom, lab to lab to clear each one as they go.
Videos and images on social media show police in riot gear roaming through classrooms across UCLA with guns drawn. There are also images of police asking people they encourage to put their hands up.
The idea is to make sure all areas are safe before moving on.
The process was used last year during the terrorist attack in San Bernardino, which killed 14 people at the Inland Regional Center. Police slowly cleared the area and later tracked down the shooters. In that case, the sweep uncovered explosive devices that the shooters left at the center.
UPDATES:
11:50 a.m. Updated with color from the scene at UCLA.
This story was originally posted at 10:57 a.m.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
