Panicked students and families were rushed into a high school auditorium right after a football game Thursday night as police opened fire on an SUV driver who allegedly tried to run over an officer.
The ordeal stemmed from an incident in the front parking lot of Legacy High School in South Gate in which police say an SUV driver tried to run over an officer, causing either a South Gate Police Department officer or a school police officer to subsequently open fire.
No one was struck by the gunfire, but the SUV driver hit another car and managed to run away. Two people were in the other car, one of whom had to be taken to a hospital, police said.
The events took place around 9:45 p.m., just after a football game at the high school. Panicked students and their families were quickly ushered to the school auditorium and instructed to shelter in place.
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Maria Angel said her son, Jordan, who is on the football team, called her in a panic. “It was scary because he was panicking and he thought I was in the parking lot waiting for him after the game,” she said.
Jordan said people were running through the hallways, getting down and crying. Some other students, like him, were worried as they wondered whether their parents had been outside waiting to pick them up when the shots rang out.
"Everyone got down, staying away from the windows," said Jordan. "Everyone was crying, scared, panicking."
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People were finally being let out of the auditorium around 11:30 p.m.
No arrests were reported.
