Pursuit of armed woman ends in officer-involved shooting in Los Angeles on Memorial Day

The Los Angeles Police Department pursued a woman with a gun early Monday morning, and the pursuit ended in a standoff and officer-involved shooting.

The chase started around 7:45 a.m. in Van Nuys, the LAPD confirmed, adding that it involved a report of a woman with a gun in a white van.

Around 35 minutes later, the pursuit had come to a stop in Woodland Hills, but the woman did not immediately exit her vehicle.

Sky5 was above the area where the van stopped around 8 a.m. but was unable to get a clear view of it due to tree cover and low clouds. Several squad cars were seen in the area; one officer was seen speaking with a man in a carport, and multiple LAPD airships were also seen monitoring the scene from above.

The woman, who reportedly had a dog with her, was engaged in a standoff with police after she drove into a dead end at Marmora Drive and Arcana Road. Video posted to the Citizen App shows her standing and then kneeling on top of the van before laying down on her chest.

She appeared to have something sticking out of the top of her shirt, but it was not clear from the footage what it was. Her van appeared to have cardboard blocking the passenger side window.

LAPD officials confirmed at 9:30 a.m. that an officer-involved shooting occurred near Marmora and Arcana, which is in a neighborhood in the southern portion of Woodland Hills off Mulholland Drive.

The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed to KTLA that one person was transported from the scene and that it was clear for first responders to enter the area.

LAFD did not explicitly confirm whether the woman was struck by gunfire from police.

Footage later obtained by KTLA shows a massive police presence in the area and nearby residents being evacuated from their homes.

Shortly before 11:30 a.m., a Los Angeles Police Department mobile investigation vehicle arrived at the scene, indicating the probe into the incident “is going to take a while,” according to KTLA 5’s Kimberly Cheng.

One resident who lives in the area described the moments leading up to the Memorial Day standoff in the dead end near her home.

“I was just walking up the street and there were helicopters [but] I thought they were over the park,” Sophie Greenbaum said. “But then they came over my head, and there was the white van coming up the street with ten police cars following her…there [has been] a lot of police activity for many hours.”

“I just pray everybody is safe and okay,” she added.

No further information on the woman — or the dog that was reportedly in the van with her — were immediately released. A police spokesperson is said to be heading to the scene to provide the media with an update.

This is a developing story. Stay with KTLA for details.

Sofia Pop Perez and Luis Zuñiga contributed to this report.

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