WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — A Los Angeles School Police Department (LASPD) police officer was shot in the chest while sitting in his marked police car outside of El Camino Real High School. The gunman fled the scene and is still on the loose.
Officer Jeff Stenroos, 30, was wearing a ballistic vest at the time of the incident and was conscious and talking after being shot, the Los Angeles Times reported. The officer was shot on Wednesday, late in the morning as he confronted the suspect who appeared to breaking into vehicles near the school, according to the Associated Press.
Stenroos might be released from the hospital this afternoon.
Police are searching for the suspect, reportedly a middle-aged Caucasian male wearing jeans and a bomber jacket. He was last seen on Burbank Boulevard, heading east.
El Camino Real High School and the nearby Hale Middle School were put on lockdown following the shooting, as were seven other schools in the area. About 9,000 students were affected, according to the Daily News.