Deputies Open Fire After Car Hits Officer in Rosemead

A motorist fleeing from a Rosemead home struck a female sheriff's deputy with his SUV on Wednesday, prompting deputies to open fire on the vehicle, but the man drove off and then fled on foot, remaining at large until he was found in a nearby backyard, authorities said.

The nearly daylong search of the neighborhood prompted the lock-down of three schools. The female deputy suffered only minor injuries.

The deputy-involved shooting in the 2400 block of Earle Avenue occurred about 7:30 a.m., according to Deputy Rich Pena of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.

Sgt. Diane Hecht said deputies from the Temple Station were responding to a report of a woman screaming at a home in the area. When they arrived, they saw a man was driving away in a Toyota 4 Runner.

Deputies ordered him to stop, but the man -- described as a heavy-set man in his 20s -- accelerated, hitting a female deputy.

Deputies fired several rounds at the man's vehicle, striking the windshield, Hecht said. It was unclear exactly how many shots were fired. The man continued driving, but a few blocks away, the man drove onto a curb in the 8200 block of Rush Street and abandoned the Toyota.

A roughly five-block containment area was set up, and deputies began combing the area. Roger Temple Middle School, George Sanchez Elementary School and Rice Elementary School were locked down while the search continued, Pena said.

Deputy Oscar Butao said the driver, who was not yet identified, was arrested in a nearby backyard just before 3 p.m. He said he could not confirm reports that the initial report of a domestic disturbance was the result of a fight between a brother and sister over an iPod.

Butao said the man was hospitalized with a shoulder injury. It was not clear if he was injured during the shootout.

He is likely to be booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon or attempted murder of a peace officer, Butao said.

The deputy was also treated at a hospital, "but she'll be OK," he said.