‘Ghost gun’ used to shoot LAPD officer, police say
‘Ghost gun’ used to shoot LAPD officer, police say
An untraceable “ghost gun” was allegedly used to wound an officer during a pursuit in the Exposition Park area, police revealed Monday.
The shooting occurred at 3:45 p.m. Saturday at 39th Place and Western Avenue, at or near Martin Luther King Jr. Park, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Charles Miller told City News Service.
Two uniformed Gang Enforcement Detail officers were conducting a patrol along the Western Avenue corridor near Martin Luther King Park when they spotted a man, later identified as 26-year-old Ernesto Sepulveda, riding a bicycle north on the sidewalk, according to an LAPD news release.
“The officers believed that Sepulveda possessed a handgun and initiated a pedestrian stop on the 3900 block of South Western Avenue,” according to the LAPD.
Sepulveda fled and while being chased, he allegedly drew a pistol from his waistband and fired at the officers, “resulting in an officer-involved shooting.”
“One officer was struck in the legs by gunfire,” police said. “Sepulveda continued to flee south on Western Avenue and fired an additional round at backup officers.”
The other gang enforcement officer returned fire, but the gunman was not hit, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said.
When Sepulveda’s gun malfunctioned, he got rid of it and fled further into the park, according to the LAPD.
“Responding officers continued to pursue Sepulveda on foot and a non categorical used of force occurred when Sepulveda was taken into custody,” the LAPD news release said.
In addition to being hit in the legs, the officer struck by gunfire was also grazed on the cheek. He was in stable condition at Dignity Health-California Hospital Medical Center on Monday, police said.
His wounds were not believed life-threatening, McDonnell said.
A black steel, 9mm, Polymer-80 ghost gun, a loaded magazine and discharged cartridge cases were recovered at the scene, according to the LAPD.
Sepulveda, meanwhile, was booked after being taken to a hospital for treatment of a head laceration. He remained jailed Monday in lieu of $1 million bail, according to online sheriff’s department records.
The officer-involved shooting remained under investigation by the LAPD’s Force Investigation Division.
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