Armed Intruder Flees Animal Clinic
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WEST HILLS — Police staged a three-hour siege on an animal clinic here Tuesday, only to find that the gunman they thought was inside had flown the coop.
The gunman entered the West Hills Animal Hospital at 6402 Platt Ave. about 4:45 p.m. to rob the facility, police said. A veterinarian triggered a silent alarm, then called police to report an armed intruder in the building, according to Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Jason Lee.
Police arrived quickly, surrounded the clinic and closed off Victory Boulevard between Platt and Lederer avenues and Platt Avenue north to Vanowen Street.
The commotion of television news helicopters drew curious onlookers, who gathered in the parking lots of nearby businesses and along sidewalks.
But police pushed the crowd back as they evacuated a branch of the Los Angeles public library and some local businesses next to the animal hospital.
A SWAT team was called in about 6 p.m. and tried to contact the armed man, Lee said.
SWAT officers entered the clinic shortly after 8 p.m., Lee said. But an extensive search determined the gunman had fled.
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