LAPD Officer in Willowbrook Shooting in Critical but Stable Condition

By City News Service

WILLOWBROOK (CNS) - A Los Angeles policeman shot in the face during a probation search in the unincorporated Willowbrook area was hospitalized in critical but stable condition today as the gunman who shot him was believed to be holed in a house surrounded by an LAPD SWAT team, authorities said.

A probation officer was also slightly wounded in the shooting, which took place around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in a house in the 2200 block of East 117th Street near the Glen Anderson (105) Freeway and the border with Lynwood, police said. The shooting followed by around 13 hours one in the Mid-City area that left two LAPD detectives slightly wounded.

The suspect in Tuesday night's shooting was believed to have barricaded himself in the house, which was surrounded by dozens of law enforcement officers, according to Cmdr. Andrew Smith, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman.

The officer was taken to St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, according to broadcast reports. He was listed in critical but stable condition and was to undergo surgery, Smith said.

Family members who came to the hospital were quoted as saying they thought the officer would survive the shooting.

The probation officer was shot in a leg and treated at the scene, Officer Christopher No said.