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A gunman fired several rounds at an officer in the lobby of a Mid-City LAPD station on Monday evening.
The shooting occurred at the LAPD’s Wilshire and West Traffic Division at the 4800 block of Venice Boulevard around 8 p.m., according to KABC. The suspect, who has not been identified, walked into the station and told two desk officers he had a "complaint." He then opened fire with his handgun at one of the officers, leaving him wounded. The injured officer and his female partner returned fire and injured the suspect, reported KTLA.
The officer, whose name has not been released, was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and is in stable condition and is expected to survive, according to the L.A. Times.
"He is in great spirits," LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said at the hospital. "Remarkable young man. Very, very lucky."
The gunman had been shot several times and was taken to a hospital to care for his injuries; he is in critical condition.
Earlier reports said that the injured officer was wearing a bulletproof vest when the shooting occurred, and that the officer had been shot three times in his vest and four times in his extremities. However, Sgt. Barry Montgomery of the LAPD told NBC Los Angeles that those reports were wrong and added that it was "even more miraculous that he was not killed" because the officer was not wearing a vest.
Also, as investigators are digging deeper into the details of the shooting, they say they actually do not know at this time how many times the officer was shot, reported KTLA. They're also looking for more information about the shooter.
"We don't know who he is, where he came from," Cmdr. Dennis Kato told the L.A. Times. "We don't even have a name on him at this point."
UPDATE 11:57 p.m.: The LAPD has identified the gunman as 29-year-old Daniel Christopher Yealu, according to City News Service. Officers found Yealu had a great deal of ammunition, rifles and other weapons in his home during a search.
Yealu was shot at least four times by the officers at the station and is still in the hospital listed under critical condition. Even though he's still in the hospital, he was arrested today and booked with bail set at $2 million.
