A gunman walked into an LAPD stationhouse on Monday night and began shooting at two officers who were at the front desk after engaging them in several minutes of conversation , Chief Charlie Beck told CBS News .
Around 8 p.m., an unknown male walked in the lobby of the Los Angeles Police Department, located in the 4800 block of Venice Boulevard, told the officers sitting at the front desk that he had a complaint and then started shooting with a semiautomatic pistol.
One officer was struck seven times before he and his female partner was able to return fire.
Chief Beck told CBS Los Angeles that the seven-year veteran desk officer , who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where he was last listed in good condition. His wounds were reportedly to his shoulder.
“He is in great spirits, a remarkable young man, very, very lucky,” Beck said. “To be shot seven times and to be talking to me and texting his friends on his mobile device… is just amazing.”
“Just by the grace of God, we didn’t lose another one. To be shot seven times at close range by a semiautomatic pistol and be talking to me,” Beck said to reporters outside the station.
Beck also Tweeted:
Just left our #LAPD officer’s bedside at the hospital. Two things saved his life: #bodyarmor & #determination . Courageous will to survive.
— Chief Charlie Beck (@LAPDChiefBeck) April 8, 2014
The suspect was critically wounded and is currently undergoing surgery at a nearby hospital.
During the time of the shooting, a community meeting with several dozen people was taking place in a room not too far from where the shooting took place, and although the station, according to Commander Dennis Kato, is normally quiet at night, the station was buzzing with roughly 35 people , he said to the LA Times .
A motive has not been determined for the LAPD shooting, however the bomb squad was at the station, which also houses the LAPD’s Wilshire Division, and was checking a vehicle that may have belonged to the shooter.
[Photo Credit: LAPD ]
