An LAPD officer is being treated for multiple gunshot wounds after a man broke into his personal car and retrieved his on-duty weapon— leading to a shoot-out.

LAPD Chief Michel Moore said preliminary information showed the off-duty officer went to the underground garage of his Sherman Oaks apartment, Wednesday, and noticed the man inside his car, wearing his bullet proof vest.

Knowing his on-duty firearm was inside the vehicle, the officer pulled out his personal firearm and a gun battle ensued as the suspect allegedly had possessed the firearm that was stored inside the car.

The shoot-out continued to the side of the apartment where the suspect was shot and the officer retrieved his on-duty firearm from him.

After going to back to the garage, the officer then collapsed in front of another individual who was with him.

The officer suffered gunshot wounds to the chest and thigh and is in surgery for the wounds at a local hospital.

“He is stable… he is grateful to be alive, but he is not out of the woods yet,” Moore said in a press conference Wednesday. “He is going into surgery for the extent of the injuries he suffered.”

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the call at 2:25 p.m. although it is not immediately clear who made the call. L.A. Fire treated both the suspect and the officer.

As the fire department found the suspect at the side of the apartment, he allegedly began tossing items gathered from the car including firearm magazines. The suspect was also transported to a local hospital.

“Thankfully, the local fire department that responded was a paramedic assessment so they were able to quickly engage in life-saving treatment and that’s what enabled us to transport the officer and the suspect to these local hospitals,” LAFD battalion chief Hector Hernandez said.

Chief Moore said an investigation is underway, with the suspect to be interviewed, but it is believed to be a “random event” and not a targeted one.

 

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