Inglewood officer shot while off duty; gunman at large

Off-duty Inglewood officer is stable at hospital after shooting; gunman remains at large

Sheriff's deputies on a street with parked vehicles and yellow police tape

March 31, 2022 Updated 8:35 PM PT

An off-duty Inglewood police officer was shot Thursday morning while reportedly trying to help a family member retrieve property in an unincorporated area just south of the city, and the gunman remains at large, according to authorities.

The plainclothes officer was shot about 10:15 a.m. in a residential alley near Lennox Boulevard and Osage Avenue, authorities said. He was hit in the leg and arm, according to law enforcement sources.

The officer was taken by ambulance to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, according to KCBS-TV Channel 2 news. Law enforcement sources said the officer underwent surgery and that his injuries are not life-threatening.

The officer was listed as stable Thursday night, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Investigators learned that the off-duty officer went to the area to help a family member “in possibly retrieving property” when he was confronted by a suspect who drew a handgun and fired multiple times, deputies said.

“The suspect fled the location in a light-colored sedan northbound on Osage Avenue and out of view,” deputies said. “Detectives are conducting interviews of the involved parties and are processing evidence at the scene.”

The shooting occurred in Sheriff’s Department jurisdiction, and Hawthorne police are helping search for the gunman. The Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau is investigating the attack.

A crowd of law enforcement officers near an ambulance

This is the second time in recent months that an off-duty officer has been shot. In January, off-duty Los Angeles Police Officer Fernando Arroyos was shot and killed in the unincorporated Florence-Firestone neighborhood near Watts.

Arroyos, 27, and his girlfriend were robbed as they sat in their parked car in an alley while house hunting. Jesse Contreras; Ernesto Cisneros; Luis Alfredo de la Rosa Rios; and Haylee Marie Grisham have been charged with murdering Arroyos in aid of the Florencia 13 gang, according to federal prosecutors.

The complaint alleges the group robbed and murdered Arroyos “to increase and maintain position” within the gang. Investigators said they had spotted Arroyos wearing chains around his neck, and decided to rob him.

Anyone with information about the shooting Thursday in the Lennox neighborhood can call the Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.

Times staff writer Gregory Yee contributed to this report.