Two Los Angeles police officers were shot at Sunday night while they drove their patrol car in the southern part of the city, police said. The officers returned fire, authorities said, and no one was injured.
One suspect was arrested and two weapons, including a rifle, were recovered. Another remains at large, prompting a manhunt that lasted for hours and involved about 100 officers, LAPD Capt. Lillian Carranza said.
Police warned residents to stay indoors in part of South Central Los Angeles. On Monday, police reopened access to streets inside a six-block perimeter they set up overnight.
LAPD Detective Megan Aguilar told CNN that investigators have “nothing to indicate that there’s a nexus” between the shooting and recent nationwide protests against police brutality that have fueled animosity toward police.
And there was a second incident over the weekend in which police were fired at, this one in Florida on Sunday morning.
Someone fired three bullets at two deputies with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office as they sat in their patrol car.
“Both deputies reported hearing the whizzing sound of each projectile as they flew by,” the sheriff’s office said. “Deputies did not see the suspect or the vehicle from which the shots were fired.”
Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay is offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to the person or persons who fired at the officers. Pasco County authorities are also searching for someone who spray-painted, “Shoot MP Cop” on a road barrier in Meadow Pointe, a subdivision.
The latest incidents of shots fired at police come after New York police Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were gunned down in their patrol car on December 20.
The gunman, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, then shot himself at a subway station. Earlier, he had posted angry messages on social media against police and government, citing the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, two black men killed by police.
On Saturday, more than 25,000 police officers from across the country and even Canada attended Ramos’ funeral.
Liu’s funeral will be January 4.
