Police shot and wounded two women who were in a vehicle that matched the description of one driven by an ex-LAPD officer wanted in a deadly rampage, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck confirmed on Thursday.
Los Angeles and Torrance police were involved in two shootings in Torrance on Thursday before dawn when officers came across vehicles similar to the one sought by authorities searching for a former LAPD officer suspected of killing three people, police said.
Two officers were on protection detail guarding one of the people listed in ex-LAPD Officer Christopher Dorner’s manifesto, Beck said.
The individuals suffered minor injuries and were being treated for their wounds.
“Tragically, we believe it may be a case of mistaken identity on the part of the officers,” Beck said during a press conference on Thursday morning.
Neither shooting involved Dorner, 33, who remains at large, according to police.
The first shooting occurred about 5:20 a.m. in the 19500 block of Redbeam Avenue in Torrance, where Los Angeles police detectives wounded two people, police said. Police said the truck was suspicious because it rolled through a neighborhood with no headlights on.
The second shooting occurred about 5:45 a.m. at Flagler Lane and Beryl Street, about two blocks away from the first. No one was injured in that incident.
Police said both shootings involved vehicles matching the description of the one sought in connection with Dorner.