Updated at the bottom with the officer expected to make a full recovery. First posted at 3:45 p.m. Thursday.

An LAPD cop was shot multiple times in south Los Angeles today, putting him in the hospital in serious condition, department spokesman Richard French told the Weekly.

It happened about 2:45 p.m. near South Western Avenue and 70th in the Hyde Park area of South L.A. street after two officers in a patrol car stopped to question a group of people on the street, he said: As the cops got out at least one suspect opened fire immediately, striking one of the two officers “multiple” times.

The shooting prompted a citywide “tactical alert” for the LAPD, meaning all cops must stay on duty. Police radio frequencies indicated that officers with helmets were being sent to the scene.

Two suspects were taken into custody, French said, and one more was being sought.


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A neighbor told the Weekly that two men, apparently suspects, entered her home after the shooting.

They told me to open the door. They entered by the back door, and then I opened the front door and they left. They entered my house, but I didn't see no guns.

A perimeter was set up in the area in an attempt to catch the third suspect, French said.

Update: Multiple tweets indicate the officer sustained “non-life-threatening” injuries. Fox 11's Ruben Villaescusa says “a bullet hit his wrist and shattered his elbow.”

Update No. 2: LAPD Officer Bruce Borihanh tells us the officer has been stabilized: He was hit three times, once in the torso, once in the hand and once in the arm. The round to the torso was apparently absorbed by the cops ballistic vest, he said.

Officers did return fire, Borihanh said, and a suspect taken into custody was hospitalized.

Despite our previous reporting, the officer said that two suspects remained on-the-loose, and that cops were still searching for them.

Update No. 3: City News Service reports Friday that the officer underwent successful surgery on his hand and was expected to be discharged from the hospital tomorrow. He was expected to make a full recover.

LAPD Chief Beck says a weapon was recovered at the scene of the shooting. But only one of three suspects sought was caught.

[@dennisjromero/djromero@laweekly.com]

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