Police are searching a hillside area Tuesday in the north San Fernando Valley for a man possibly connected to a series of burglaries in the area.
Images of an armed man skulking around Shadow Hills backyard are making the rounds among neighborhood security apps, making residents nervous.
On Tuesday morning, police responded to a hillside area near a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power property after reports of a possible sighting of the man. Police said employees at the site reported a man armed with a rifle squeezing through a gate.
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SWAT members responded to the area near the 210 Freeway. No arrests were reported early Tuesday.
The search follows reports of a man appearing on security camera video and still images outside homes in nearby Shadow Hills. They show a thin man carrying what appear to be a variety of weapons.
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Terri Guereque, a 17-year resident, said she saw a man with a rifle.
"They say he's really fast," she said.
In one video captured on Oct. 24, a handgun appears to be stuffed in his waistband, and a stuffed pack on his back. He glances over his shoulder briefly, notices the camera, then walks away.
"It makes you uncomfortable to think that he's around here," Guereque said.
Other posts include unverified accounts of recent break-ins in the hilly neighborhood of winding roads off the 210 Freeway.
Some of those accounts identify weapons the man is carrying as a hunting rifle and, later, an "AR style" assault weapon.
A Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief said investigators have been "working this case for months." He said they are "close to identifying a suspect," but welcome any input and camera evidence residents can provide.
Guereque confirmed that police are engaged in trying to find him. She's seen helicopters and police cars patrolling the streets for weeks.
"And we still haven't found him," Guereque said.
Police say that it's still unknown whether all the break-ins are connected to the man.
