A shocking clip of a man shooting a gun aimed at a California Highway Patrol officer’s vehicle is causing quite a stir online. The incident occurred early on Monday morning near the intersection of Rosecrans and Atlantic avenues during a dangerous street takeover in Compton. While the video does appear to show muzzle flash from a gun and coincides with the sound of gunfire, the CHP has now dubbed the video as “misleading,” and has since confirmed that the vehicle was not targeted by a gunman. While the video has since been removed on Reddit, the footage is still making the rounds on other social media platforms right now.
The 10-second clip is captured by a bystander’s cellphone and takes place at the aforementioned intersection of Rosecrans and Atlantic avenues in Compton. The footage sees a CHP vehicle with its emergency red and blue flashing lights blinking on and off, and as it begins to pull away, a guy runs up very closely to the patrol vehicle and it appears like he begins to open fire on it.
Not only does he extend his arm in a shooting pose, but you can also see muzzle flash from what appears to be a gun. Furthermore, the sound of gunfire can be heard at the same time. Luckily, the CHP vehicle manages to speed away as if nothing has happened, and you can hear a little commotion from the onlookers in the street, before the brief clip comes to a close.
According to local TV station KTLA, the CHP has officially confirmed that the driver of the patrol vehicle, an unnamed Sergeant, was not in any genuine danger during the incident and managed to evade the situation unharmed. In fact, in an official statement, the CHP explained, “The sergeant related no one shot at him, as he did not see any shots being fired.” Adding a little more detail, law enforcement officials clarified:
“The sergeant was the only unit in the area at the time, and two to three spectators ran toward his patrol vehicle holding their cell phones,” CHP explained. “He only heard the shots, which came from somewhere east of his location.”
California Highway Patrol via KTLA
The Sergeant in question was originally responding to a street takeover, but was allegedly attempting to leave the area in a bid to “avoid escalating the situation.” KTLA’s Sarah Welch reported from the scene, and explained that while there “may’ve been gunfire in the area,” there were “no shots fired at the CHP officer or his vehicle.”
Of course, netizens remain baffled by the footage as it does appear like the man in the video is indeed shooting at the patrol vehicle. One Redditor penned: “It’s hard to see but around the 5 second mark, just as the cops driving away, you can see a slight muzzle flash that matches up with audio.” Whatever the case may be, we’re just glad that no one was hurt during the confusing incident.
