Woodland Hills pursuit suspect in serious condition after being shot by police

An alleged armed suspect who led police on a pursuit through the San Fernando Valley and then barricaded herself in her van in a Woodland Hills neighborhood is in serious condition after police fired gunshots during a lengthy standoff.

Los Angeles Police Department officers initially responded to reports of a shooting near Sherman Way and Woodman Avenue at about 7:15 a.m. The person who reported the shooting told police that a van with visible bullet holes was parked in the area.

When officers arrived, they found a woman outside the aforementioned van. During the first interaction with police, the woman produced a handgun and pointed it at herself, the LAPD said.

She then entered the van, and officers began pursuing the armed suspect around 7:45 a.m. through the San Fernando Valley Monday morning. The white Ford van moved at slow to moderate speeds primarily along Ventura Boulevard in Tarzana and into Woodland Hills.

Dogs could be seen in the van during the pursuit and at one point, the driver went over a sidewalk to avoid a spike strip on the roadway.

At about 8:10 a.m., the woman parked the van at a cul-de-sac in a residential area at Arcana Road and Marmora Street in Woodland Hills. The woman barricaded herself in the van, and at about 9:15 a.m., an officer-involved shooting occurred. 

Neighbor Katrina Escalante said she heard the commotion in their Woodland Hills neighborhood around 8 a.m. "We were sleeping and then helicopters were really loud and started going around the neighborhood, and saying like "please stay inside your house, lock your doors, there is an armed suspect in your neighborhood, be safe, do not leave your house,'" she said. 

Around 10:30 a.m., the driver was taken into custody and was transported from the scene on a gurney for medical treatment. 

The woman is in serious condition, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department