Police Arrest Armed Suspect near Ave. 50 and Monte Vista

Los Angeles Police Department officers arrested an armed man at around 11:15 p.m. on Tuesday night after hearing several reports of gun shots being fired in the area of Avenue 50 and Monte Vista St.

LAPD told Highland Park-Mount Washington Patch that officers were dispatched to the area around Monte Vista and Avenue 50 near Grenada Street at 9:30 p.m on Tuesday after receiving radio reports about the shots.

Police said they set up a lockdown perimeter around Monte Vista and Avenue 50 after a suspect described as an Hispanic male, about 6 feet tall, wearing dark clothes, took off on foot upon seeing officers in the neighborhood.

"We saw the suspect, saw he had a gun and gave chase," an LAPD officer who was involved in the arrest told Highland Park-Mount Washington Patch. "We lost him for a little bit, so we set up the perimeter. We eventually took him down with the assistance of K-9 officers. At that point he had ditched the gun."

According to Sgt. Wayne Guillary, the lockdown perimiter was lifted at about 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Sgt. Guillary was also careful to point out that though the man LAPD officers arrested was armed and matched the description provided to them by area residents, he was not yet officially considered a suspect.

"Without an eyewitness we can't tie him to the crime," Sgt. Guillary said.