Wal-Mart Evacuated as Police Search for Suspect in Slaying
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PANORAMA CITY — A discount store at the Panorama Mall was closed for several hours Wednesday while Los Angeles police searched for a possible slaying suspect, authorities said.
No one was taken into custody.
Police were called to the Wal-Mart store about 11 a.m. by an area merchant who said he had seen a man who matched the description of a suspect wanted in connection with a slaying in the northeast San Fernando Valley, said Officer Mike Partain, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman.
The suspect was described at a large Latino man wearing dark pants and a blue denim jacket, Partain said.
Police with dogs searched both inside and around the store in the 8300 block of Van Nuys Boulevard, Partain said. Shoppers and employees were evacuated from the store about 1:15 p.m. The search ended at 3:45 p.m.
A gate that connects the discount store to the main mall was closed and mall security officers were alerted during the search, said Juile Schneider, assistant marketing director at the mall.
Wal-Mart officials could not be reached for comment.
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