Two Los Angeles police officers were injured and a suspect was arrested Friday night after a shooting that broke out in South LA while officers were investigating a robbery, authorities said.
The incident happened around 9 a.m. Friday when two LAPD Southeast Division officers responded to a report of a robbery in the 9200 block of Central Avenue, according to police.
At some point during the fight, the officers exchanged fire with the armed suspect, who then fled the area, police said. At the moment it was not clear whether the suspect was beaten.
A radio call for help brought a massive police response — including officers from neighboring precincts to the scene — that straddles the Florence-Firestone border, an unincorporated area north of Watts. Police and K9 units searched the area late into the night; the suspect was found and arrested a few hours later, police said.
The two officers, who have not been named, were taken to hospital with minor injuries. The police did not disclose where they were hit, but a police source told The Times that preliminary information indicates that one of the officers was injured in the leg, while the other was hit by shrapnel in the hand.
Both officers were unconscious and talking when they arrived at the hospital, a police source told The Times on Friday. They were released from the hospital on Saturday morning.
LA police records show that LAPD officers have opened fire 24 times so far this year, compared to 32 during the same period in 2023.
According to a recent crime briefing held by LAPD Interim Chief Dominic Choi, the Southeast area is one of the police divisions in the city where they are seeing an increase in robberies.
A South East police officer was injured in another police shooting incident in this area in July, when a man allegedly opened fire on a police cell holding a gun. The suspect was later taken into custody and is facing a charge of attempted murder.
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