LAPD officer shot in Exposition Park, suspect in custody

LAPD officer shot in South LA

An LAPD officer was shot while chasing a suspect in Exposition Park. The officer is in stable condition in the hospital. The suspected shooter has been arrested.

LOS ANGELES - A Los Angeles Police Department officer was shot in Exposition Park on Saturday.

What we know:

The shooting happened around 3:30 p.m., near Martin Luther King Jr. Park on in the 3900 block of S. Western Avenue. 

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said that two officers with the gang enforcement detail saw someone, later identified as 26-year-old Ernesto Sepulveda, who they believed was a suspect. When they tried to stop Sepulveda, who was on a bike north of the sidewalk, he got off his bike and began running away from officers.

As the officers chased him, investigators said he stopped and shot them. One of the officers was hit in the leg. Meanwhile, the other officer shot back, but didn't hit anyone, McDonnell said. More officers came to the scene as Sepulveda fled farther into the park.  Eventually, he was taken into custody.

Video from SkyFOX over the crime scene showed yellow police tape up in the road and in the park. 

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Paramedics took the injured officer to the hospital in stable condition with gunshot wounds to his legs and a graze wound to his cheek. 

Sepulveda was also taken to the hospital for a laceration to his head. He was treated and cleared by medical personnel for booking. 

No other officers or civilians were hurt during the incident, LAPD officials said. 

A loaded firearm, loaded magazine and discharged cartridge cases were recovered at the scene.

What we don't know:

McDonnell did not identify the officer who was injured, but said that he was a tenured officer assigned to a gang enforcement detail in the Southwest Division.