Southern California -- this just in

Police: Man opened fire on LAPD cruiser before deadly shooting

An officer-involved shooting that left a man dead and a woman wounded in Van Nuys was set off after a car drove up alongside an LAPD cruiser and an occupant opened fire, police said Thursday.

Officers were patrolling near Roscoe Boulevard and Coldwater Canyon Avenue in Sun Valley shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday when "a car pulled up to them and started
opening fire, and a chase ensued," said LAPD Officer Bruce Borihanh.

During a five-mile chase that involved several police vehicles, a "roving gun battle" took place and involved collisions with other cars, said Sgt. Robert Ward of the LAPD's Van Nuys station.

The chase ended at Vanowen Street and Firmament Avenue in Van Nuys,
where a man emerged from the car, armed with a gun and allegedly fired at the
officers, officials said. Officers shot him and he was later pronounced dead. His name was not
immediately released.

A woman in the car was wounded in the arm
and transported to a local hospital, officials said. Her condition was unknown.

No officers were hurt in the incident, authorities said. Sources said more than half a dozen officers might have fired their weapons during the gun battle, which is being investigated by the department's force investigation division, a standard protocol.

Officers from the Mission and Van Nuys stations
were placed on tactical alert for a time in connection with the incident, and a command post was set up near the
shooting scene. A dozen fire department personnel and two
ambulances were sent to the scene.

The effect on the morning commute, however, was expected to
be minimal, as much of the investigation along the chase route was concluded,
Ward said.