LAPD chase armed motorcyclist accused of waving a gun near Chaminade High School
The Los Angeles Police Department was in pursuit of a possibly armed suspect accused of brandishing a gun on his West Hills balcony.
The incident started at about 5 p.m. when police received calls about an armed man near Chaminade College Preparatory High School. The school was out of session but a baseball practice was occurring at the time. It was canceled and players were evacuated.
"We were in the middle of practice, and all we hear were just these sirens blaring," said witness Harrison Lucas-Tinter. "Cops come screeching in and they're like walking around. None of us had any clue of what was happening."
According to police, the man suffers from a mental illness and has major depression. Officers were in the area trying to negotiate with him before he took off on a motorcycle.
At some point, he pointed the firearm at police.
"Because this suspect was armed and dangerous — and we had seen him armed with a firearm — we wanted to make sure that he would not have the opportunity to put other community members at risk and that's why we continued to engage with the pursuit," said Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton.
No shots have been fired but officers believe he is armed with two different firearms.
The suspect drove around the San Fernando Valley for about an hour before returning to his home. Then, he pulled into his driveway before officers pounced upon him.
A brief scuffle ensued but officers were able to subdue him and place him in custody.
"It was crazy. It was very crazy because they went right through the barricade," said neighbor Melissa Fares. "It was scary. The police were around and I think they handled it really well because nobody got hurt.
