UPDATE: Suspect found dead in shooting of LAPD officer in the face

Update 3 p.m.: Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck on Wednesday offered new details about an officer shooting Tuesday evening at a house in the South Los Angeles neighborhood of Willowbrook.

Speaking at a news briefing, Beck said that an LAPD officer from the 77th Division gang unit was shot in the jaw by a suspect hiding in the attic of a house during a parole-probation check. An L.A. County probation officer was also struck by gunfire and was grazed in the leg.

Beck said the LAPD officer who was shot is in stable but critical condition. The probation officer was treated at the scene and released.

"This incident certainly highlights the dangerous and unpredictable nature of what probation and police officers encounter everyday in our community," said County Probation Chief Jerry Powers.

The officers were on a parole-probation compliance search, but Powers didn't provide any more details about what specifically initiated the visit.

Beck offered no further details about the suspect who died in the attic or whether the suspect sustained self-inflicted gunshots or was shot in a gun battle with police.

Beck said that police are waiting for the official identification of the suspect.

Beck added that the shooting was not related to an incident earlier in the day in which two LAPD officers yesterday were ambushed and shot, sustaining minor injuries.

"I am positive that they are not connected," Beck said. "The distance is too great. Obviously, the parole-probation search is an officer initiated activity unlike the randomness on the first occurrence."

Update 9:37 a.m.: Suspect in shooting of LAPD officer found dead

Los Angeles police say a man suspected of wounding a policeman and a probation officer has been found dead in a Willowbrook home after a 13-hour standoff, the Associated Press reported.

Cmdr. Andrew Smith told the AP that a SWAT team entered the home shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday and found the man in an attic. He'd been shot several times.

Smith says an LAPD officer was shot in the face and a probation officer was grazed in the leg around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday as they searched the home. The officer is in intensive care.

At least five officers exchanged shots with the gunman. Officers surrounded the home and adjacent homes were evacuated.

Meanwhile, the hunt continues for a gunman who ambushed and wounded two detectives outside an LA police station on Tuesday. Smith says the two attacks are unrelated.

Update 6:46 a.m. A Los Angeles police officer who was shot in the face was out of surgery and the gunman was believed holed up in a Willowbrook home 12 hours after the confrontation, police said Wednesday.
           
Meanwhile, police continued to hunt for a black-clad man who ambushed and wounded two detectives in an unconnected attack.
           
All three wounded officers "look like they're going to be OK," Cmdr. Andrew Smith told KNX-AM.
           
The officer was shot in the face and a probation officer was grazed in a leg at around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday as they conducted a routine probation search at the home in an area 10 miles south of downtown, police said.
           
At least five officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect.
           
The officer underwent surgery and remained hospitalized in stable condition in intensive care, Sgt. Albert Gonzalez told KABC-TV.
           
Dozens of police officers, including snipers, surrounded the home and evacuated nearby houses. Police have been unable to contact the man, although Smith said tear gas was fired into the home and police were considering using a robot to dismantle part of the house.
           
"Time is always on our side in these events," he said.
           
Meanwhile, the search continued for a gunman dressed in black who ambushed two detectives at the gate of the Wilshire Division police station on Tuesday morning. They received minor wounds when the gunman shot up their unmarked police car and fired back, but it was unclear whether the gunman was hit.
           
Hundreds of officers cordoned off 25 square blocks of the Mid-City area for hours and detained and questioned at least 10 people but failed to find the man.
           
"There's really no indication to believe that there's any link between these two cases," Smith said.

— AP

Update 11:10 p.m.: SWAT teams have surrounded a house on the 2200 block of 117th Street where a man suspected of shooting an LAPD officer and a county probation officer is believed to be  since the shooting happened at 7:30 p.m.

"We're hoping he comes out peacefully," said LAPD spokesperson Cmdr. Andrew Smith. "That's our goal."

Smith said police have not made contact with the man inside. He said the gunman fired at the police officer and probation officer during a probation check they did based on some criminal activity that the 77th Division officers became aware of.

The officer who was shot in the face is now in surgery, according to police officials at LAPD's 77th Division. He's been listed in critical condition and is expected to survive.

A few blocks around 117th Street and Mona Drive have been blocked off where law enforcement teams are operating from a command post. Traffic on the 105 Freeway was backed up and slow moving this evening as drivers made way for emergency vehicles responding to the scene.

The shooting in Willowbrook  is the fourth law enforcement officer to be shot at in Los Angeles in less than 24 hours.

It's unclear whether the South L.A. shooting is related to the shootings that occurred early Tuesday morning involving two LAPD Wilshire police station officers who were shot at. Those officers suffered minor injuries, but it launched a more than 12-hour search for the suspected gunman. At least 11 people were detained for questioning and released but no arrests were made.

Also Tuesday, the police commission voted to approve a departmental review of the firing of former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner who killed four people in February – including one Riverside police officer and a San Bernardino Sheriff's deputy – during a shooting spree that lasted a few days and launched a massive manhunt throughout Southern California.

The reports approved Tuesday by the police commission found that Dorner's firing was in accordance with department rules and, overall, just.

LAPD Cmdr. Smith said the department was prepared for potential reaction, but said it's not clear there's any relationship between Tuesday's police shootings and the Dorner reports.

"We got speculation from people that there would be reaction to that," Smith told reporters on scene at the standoff in Willowbrook. "We don't have any information to know whether that's true."

Below is LAPD Chief Charlie Beck's reaction to the shootings:

Update 9:07 p.m.:  At 7:30 p.m. a Los Angeles County probation officer and an LAPD gang unit officer conducted a probation check at a residence located on the 2200 block of E. 117th street in the South L.A neighborhood of Willowbrook, according to LAPD Det. Gus Villanueva.

Occupants of the house were ordered to leave. The officers then encountered a lone gunman who fired at them.  The LAPD officer was shot in the face and was taken to a nearby hospital and is in stable condition.

The  L.A. County probation officer suffered slight wound.  He is still at the scene.

The suspect is barricaded inside the house.  A SWAT team is en route.  The LAPD is on city wide tactical alert.

Update 8:53 p.pm:

A Los Angeles police officer was shot in the face in South Los Angeles on Tuesday night, the third officer fired upon and wounded on the same day.

No word yet whether the incident was related to an ambush of two detectives early this morning that triggered a manhunt. No suspects in that case have been arrested.