A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s K-9 officer based at the Santa Clarita Valley Station was instrumental in apprehending the suspect in Wednesday’s parole agent shooting in Lake View Terrace.

“It became necessary for the K-9 to bite him,” said Capt. Mike Parker of the Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau.

The shooting occurred at approximately 1:30 p.m. inside a home near Foothill Boulevard and Christy Avenue when a state parole compliance check went bad.

The parolee pulled an unknown weapon and shot a California state parole agent in the face. The agent was reportedly conscious and talking when he was admitted to Providence Holy Cross Hospital where he remains in stable condition.

The parolee sustained multiple gunshot wounds when the agent’s partner returned fire, but the injuries were not life-threatening. The suspect fled on foot.

The agent who shot the suspect sustained minor injuries in the melee but not from gunfire, Parker said.

Click to enlarge

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department handled the shooting because deputies from the sheriff’s COPS bureau accompany state parole agents on compliance checks and were already on scene.

Minutes after the shooting, a 9-1-1 call from a resident alerted officers to a possible suspect hiding under a trailer in the 10600 block of Foothill Boulevard. The single-family house at the exact address is owned by an investment company.

Sheriff deputies and LAPD officers set up a command post at the Lake View Terrace Equestrian Center.

Deputies worked an inner perimeter around the suspect’s location while LAPD officers worked an outer perimeter to keep the public out of the line of fire. California Highway Patrol officers got into the action when they were called upon to close a nearby section of the 210 Pasadena Freeway.

Deputies detained a man loosely fitting the 9-1-1 caller’s suspect description, but the man had not been shot. Deputies followed up on other witness information that pointed to other possible suspects, but those individuals had not sustained gunshot wounds, either.

Two schools – Brainerd Elementary and Delphi Academy – were closed. Deputies were in the process of evacuating Delphi when the actual suspect was located.

He was apprehended near the original location of the shooting at 5:53 p.m by the K-9 officer and SWAT team members working out of the SCV Station, Parker said. The suspect had been shot and was transported to a hospital.

As of 7 p.m., deputies were still working the scene and had not yet found the parolee’s gun. No names have been released.

——

[LASD Press Release, 1/5/2012] – Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau detectives responded to the 10600 block of Foothill Boulevard, Lake View Terrace, to assist State Parole Officer personnel investigate the circumstances surrounding an officer involved shooting.

Parole Officers, along with Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputies from the Parole Compliance team were at the location in search of a parolee at large. Upon entry to the trailer, a parole officer was met with the suspect’s gunfire and struck in the face. Another parole officer returned fire at the suspect. The suspect then fled on foot and a containment was established.

Based on the proximity of the freeway and the fact that an armed and dangerous suspect was attempting to flee, the freeway was closed along with two nearby schools.

The Suspect was located in a swimming pool by Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘s Special Enforcement Bureau K-9 personnel. The K-9 dog was deployed and bit the suspect as he was taken into custody.

The suspect was found with freshly acquired gunshot wounds, and transported to a local hospital for treatment.

The suspect is being charged with attempted murder on a police officer.

The parole officer is listed in serious but stable condition.