LAPD Officers Shot: Manhunt Begins For Suspects Who Targerted Undercover Cops

By Jobs & Hire Staff Reporter

Mar 16, 2015 11:56 AM EDT

LAPD Officers Shot - The Los Angeles Police Department has mounted a manhunt in a South LA neighborhood after two undercover cops came under fire from unidentified men on Sunday evening.

LAPD officials say the two cops, who were donning plain clothes, had been driving in an unmarked police vehicle when they came under fire from at least two shooters near 65^th Street and Broadway in Florence. The officers are reported to have returned fire, but it is unclear if any of the suspects got shot in the process.

The two officers, who are said to be assigned to the 77^th Street Division narcotics section, were reportedly only grazed by bullets. They were treated for non-life threatening injuries at the scene before being transported to a medical facility.

Several police cars appeared on the scene after the incident. The LAPD's SWAT unit was reportedly also deployed to the scene of the accident. Police cordoned off a large part of the neighborhood and a K-9 unit was used in the hunt for the suspects. Reports indicate that several people have been taken into custody, but the police are yet to announce that the shooters have been apprehended.

The police have asked residents in the neighborhood to report any "unusual activity in their house and yards."

Det. Meghan Aguilar has revealed that the officers who were shot at believed that they were targeted. "There's going to be several thorough interviews of the officers. But right now they believe they were the target [of the shooting]," she explains.

Experts have pointed out that the recent attack on LAPD officers occurred near where a mentally ill man - Ezell Ford - was shot and killed by police officers during an altercation in August last year.

Although the police officers who shot Ford claimed to be acting in self defense, the family of the deceased has filed a lawsuit against the LAPD claiming that the 25-year-old was wrongfully killed. At the moment, it is too early to tell if this formed part of the motive of the suspects who attacked the LAPD officers.