Well, they think they caught the shooter and one of his accomplices. Hopefully, with these two in custody, they will be able to get the third guy. I've lived in Gardena for 21 years, Mike has been here since 1970. Neither of us could remember any incident where a Gardena Police Officer has been shot.
Article here:
2 men arrested in shooting of officer
A third man is still being sought in the gun battle that left a Gardena patrolman wounded in the leg.
By Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
11:04 AM PST, January 10, 2008
Gardena police have arrested two of three men they suspect were involved in the shooting of a patrolman Wednesday afternoon.
Police tracked the men down Wednesday night in a 14-block area investigators had cordoned off after the noontime shooting at Normandie and Rosecrans avenues, Gardena Police Lt. Ed Burnett said today.
Although police are still searching for the third man, they reopened the search area at 1 a.m., Burnett said.
The wounded officer, whose name was not released, underwent surgery for two wounds to the right thigh and was in stable condition this morning, Burnett said.
The shooting occurred after the officer pulled into a Pizza Hut parking lot on the corner and saw three men running across Rosecrans, Burnett said. The officer ordered the men to stop, Burnett said, but they scattered.
The officer chased one man behind the restaurant, where they exchanged at least 10 rounds of gunfire, Burnett said. The gunman was armed with a semiautomatic handgun.
Police were unsure why the men were running across the street, Burnett said.
Though a veteran officer, the patrolman has been with the Gardena Police Department for only about a year, officials said.
"I saw the police officer shooting at the suspects," the owner of a neighborhood discount store said. "I heard six to seven shots fired: bang, bang, bang."
After cordoning off several blocks, officers from various departments scoured the neighborhood.
At least two police helicopters, equipped with heat sensors to detect movement on the ground, told the men over loudspeakers to "come out now, and you will not be harmed."
Just before 8 p.m., police dogs picked up a scent and led officers to a backyard on 147th Street, about four blocks from the shooting scene, Burnett said. A man found in a hot tub with the lid down matched the description of the shooter and was taken into custody, Burnett said.
About an hour later, the second man was found, also hiding in the search area. He was taken into custody and was being questioned this morning, Burnett said.
Neither man was immediately identified.
Some neighbors said they were stunned by the daytime shooting. Anthony White, 40, said he and his family had moved into the neighborhood three months ago. He said before he bought a house he drove around the residential area several times at night to see whether it was safe.
"It was really quiet," he said. "I was shocked, because it's like a desert."
But Sheila Miller, who works at 153rd Street School, said she had lived in the neighborhood for four years and that there is gang and drug activity.
molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com
Times staff writers Ari Bloomekatz and Andrew Blankstein contributed to this report.
Posted by Valkyre at January 10, 2008 10:42 PM