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Los Angeles officer shot by man who walked into police station

A Los Angeles police officer was wounded by a gunman who walked into a police station and opened fire, hitting him seven times.

By Frances Burns

LOS ANGELES, April 8 (UPI) -- A Los Angeles police officer wounded by a gunman at a station in the Mid-City neighborhood may have survived because of his bulletproof vest.

Police Chief Charlie Beck said the officer, who was hit seven times, was "very very lucky." But Beck added that the officer returned fire after being wounded and "his luck was augmented by his courage."

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Investigators said the man, who had not been identified late Monday, walked into the West Bureau Traffic lobby while a community meeting was underway and said something about a complaint before he began firing. He was in critical condition after being wounded by gunfire from the victim and other police officers.

"We don't know who he is, where he came from," Cmdr. Dennis Kato said. "We don't even have a name on him at this point."

Kato said most of the bullets hit the wounded officer's vest, although one struck him in the left arm. He was treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

"He is in great spirits," Beck told reporters at the hospital.

[Los Angeles Times]

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