Police shooting on the 210 Freeway in Sylmar closed all westbound lanes at the Polk Street overpass and caused significant traffic delays during afternoon rush hour as officers pursued a suspect.
Los Angeles Police Department officers fired shots on the 210 Freeway in Sylmar Tuesday afternoon, prompting the closure of all westbound lanes at the Polk Street overpass and causing significant traffic delays during afternoon rush hour.
The incident occurred at approximately 1:30 p.m. in the area of the 210 Freeway and Bledsoe Street according to a department spokesperson. Officers were in pursuit of an approximately 25-year-old suspect when shots were fired.
A California Highway Patrol spokesperson confirmed the westbound 210 Freeway at Polk Street was closed with traffic diverted to State Route 118. The eastbound transition road from State Route 118 to the westbound 210 was also closed.
The closure remained in place at 4 p.m. causing a significant backlog of traffic on the 210 Freeway State Route 118 and surrounding streets as afternoon rush hour intensified according to helicopter footage captured by KTLA.
KTLA helicopters captured what appeared to be a handgun lying on the freeway. A heavy police presence was observed at the scene where a pickup truck and semi-truck were cordoned off by police tape.
The Los Angeles Times reported the suspect had a felony warrant for his arrest and officers put in a call for backup at which time shots were fired by police. Details around what led to the gunfire remained unclear.
ABC7 Los Angeles provided different details suggesting officers responded to a report of a man with a gun in the middle of an attempted carjacking at the Polk Street overpass. It was unclear what exactly unfolded before shots were fired.
A suspect was taken into custody and a gun was recovered according to LAPD. A person was loaded into an ambulance though it remained unclear what injuries they may have sustained.
LAPD noted no officers were injured and no cars were struck by gunfire. The Bledsoe Street bridge over the freeway was also closed while the investigation continued.
The California Highway Patrol issued a Sigalert at 2:15 p.m. AIR7 footage showed bumper-to-bumper traffic extending from La Tuna Canyon near Sun Valley all the way into the San Fernando Valley. The traffic backup stretched upwards of five miles.
The 170 Freeway and 5 Freeway were both also backed up as drivers sought alternate routes around the closure.
More than a dozen LAPD patrol SUVs were stopped on the freeway near the Bledsoe Street overpass under which a white pickup and big rig were stopped according to NBC Los Angeles.
The westbound 210 Freeway remained closed for investigation into the police shooting. Caltrans said the road would be closed for an unknown duration.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
This article was generated with AI assistance.