The Los Angeles Police Department continues its hunt for Ezequiel Garcia, 42, a murder parolee allegedly seen with a rifle Tuesday night in South Los Angeles, as the intensive search that commenced late Tuesday and spilled into the early hours of Wednesday yielded no capture of the suspect. NBC Los Angeles reports that the operation began around 8:30 p.m. after witnesses reported seeing an armed man in the vicinity of Avalon Boulevard, which escalated rapidly into a perimeter being set around a junkyard and nearby properties.
Despite the recovery of a rifle from Garcia's vehicle, extensive efforts involving SWAT officers and K-9 units remained fruitless, "after several hours of searching, it was determined the suspect was no longer in the area," according to a police statement. Garcia, who is considered armed and dangerous, successfully evaded the authorities through neighboring yards, and his whereabouts as of early Wednesday were unknown, the suspense of the chase also leaving several area residents unable to return to their homes for hours.
As detailed by CBS Los Angeles, the incident was initiated when a 911 call reported Garcia allegedly loading a rifle next to a car. Arriving officers sighted Garcia, but a pursuit ensued with the suspect eventually disappearing into a neighboring junkyard. Garcia's dropped driver's license was a key piece in identifying him.
Gil Villalobos, a local whose parents were caught up in the lockdown, related to law enforcement that he was maintaining communication with his parents who awaited the standoff's end, and according to their account, "They did find a shotgun that the guy threw somewhere — we don't know where," Villalobos told ABC7. The extensive search involved both air and ground units, with helicopters monitoring from the sky and SWAT teams sweeping through structures including a shed indicated by a K-9 unit to contain the suspect, although it was empty upon entry.
In the meantime, police have pledged to increase patrols in the shaken neighborhood as the manhunt continues, and the investigation into the night's events is ongoing. Community members were instructed to remain indoors during the search, highlighting the tense atmosphere as a potentially dangerous individual lurks untamed by justice's grasp, and the broader implications of such an episode echo in the streets where safety is a communal yearning.
