Police searched car-to-car on Sunday night near the Northridge Fashion Center on a report of a sighting of an ex-LAPD officer suspected in an alleged revenge plot in a case of mistaken identity.
Police responded to two separate calls about 3:30 p.m. from people reporting seeing someone who possibly resembled Christopher Dorner inside of a Lowe's home improvement store and in the parking lot near Corbin Avenue and Nordhoff Street, police said.
Police evacuated the store and conducted a search. Authorities also ran vehicle license plates on the white sedan believed to be connected to the man who was mistaken for Dorner.
Complete Revenge Plot Coverage: Special NBCLA.com Section | Timeline | Map | Dorner's Manifesto
Officers called the man and determined he had left with another person. The man did not know there was a search, let alone for him, police said.
Police were taking every precaution as they receive reports of people seeing Dorner, the subject of a multi-state manhunt, wanted in connection the fatal shootings of three people, including a police officer.
"When it comes to this case we leave no stone unturned," said LAPD Lt. Ahmad Zarekami.
Police cordoned off neighborhoods and briefly locked down the store, not letting anyone out nor anyone in, police said.
The lockdown and search was seen mostly as precautionary as officials are receiving many reports from people claiming they've seen someone who looks like Dorner, a 270-pound, 6-foot former Navy officer.
More than a dozen officers remained at the scene as of 8 p.m.