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3 officer-involved shootings for LAPD Thurs.

By Andrew Blankstein
The Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES Los Angeles police are investigating three separate incidents that occurred early today in which officers either shot at suspects or were fired upon, authorities said.

No officers were hurt in the confrontations, which took place between 1:20 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. in the Miracle Mile, Mission Hills and Venice areas, police said.

In the first incident, a patrol officer attempted to pull over a red car carrying three suspects near 8th Street and Cloverdale Avenue, said Sgt. Lee Sands. The driver suddenly took off, leading police on an erratic chase for several blocks before the trio bailed out and ran.

At one point, one of the suspects fired on police. But it was not clear what prompted the shooting or how many shots were fired at officers.

Police eventually captured all three men after setting up a containment area between Wilshire and Olympic boulevards and Dunsmuir and Sycamore avenues.

In an unrelated incident in the San Fernando Valley, officers responding to a shooting call at 3:25 a.m. encountered several men in the 8600 block of Columbus Avenue near Parthenia Street.

Two men began firing at two officers, striking the window of a vehicle next to their patrol car before fleeing. SWAT officers and police search dogs were called in, but authorities could not find the men, who fled into a nearby apartment complex.

In the third incident, in Venice, Los Angeles police shot and wounded a man after responding to a call of drunk and disorderly conduct at 4:26 a.m. in the 3900 block of Moore Street. The unidentified man suffered wounds to a leg and an arm.

Police said it was unclear how the incident unfolded, only that an air rifle was found in the suspect’s sport utility vehicle.

Copyright 2007 The Los Angeles Times