LOS ANGELES — Two campus police officers responding to a report of a hostage situation shot and wounded a man on Thursday in a parking lot at a Southern California community college after he pointed a gun at them, a police official said.
The shooting at El Camino College in the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance shook up the school, which according to a state website has about 27,000 students. But a school representative said the campus did not go on lockdown.
Officers responding to a report of a possible hostage situation arrived and found the man next to the stairwell of a parking structure, El Camino College Police Chief Michael Trevis told a news conference.
“The individual produced what appears to be a firearm, pointed it at the officers and the officers fired,” Trevis said.
The suspect was taken by ambulance to a hospital, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Sergeant Carmen Arballo said. His medical condition was not forthcoming Thursday.
The man, whose name or age has not been disclosed, called police claiming to hold a hostage, but when officers arrived on the scene no hostage was found, school officials said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Dave Dolson, whose agency is investigating the shooting, told local television station KABC the man may have intentionally set out to confront police.