Woman shot by police after chase ends in standoff in Woodland Hills

WOODLAND HILLS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A woman was shot by police in a Woodland Hills neighborhood after a pursuit ended in a standoff. At one point, the woman climbed on top of a van while holding a weapon.

It all started in Van Nuys when Los Angeles police got a call about a possible shooting around 8 a.m. When officers arrived, they spotted the woman outside of a white van, with bullet holes in the windshield.

"At that time, they were able to get a little information from her, but during that engagement, she produced a handgun, pointed it at herself, and got back in the van," said Det. Meghan Aguilar with LAPD.

That's when the hour-long pursuit started. The chase ended in a cul-de-sac in the 20900 block of Arcana Road.

AIR7 was above the scene and captured the tense standoff. At one point, the woman got out and jumped on the roof of the van, all while holding a gun to her head.

Video from a nearby home shows the woman on top of the van.

Katarina Escalante and Eliza Scott were in a nearby house when they heard the commotion involving the suspect and police.

"Like, 'We were trying to get you to calm down. We want to help you. We're not trying to hurt you.' They were just repeating the same thing," Escalante said. "'We want to help you. We want to help your dogs. We're going to take care of you. We're going to take care of your dogs.'"

"She wasn't like, listening to their commands and stuff like that. I wouldn't be able to tell you everything that was going on, but it just seemed like she was having a pretty difficult time before she even got there," Scott said. "All in all, I'd say the police did a really good job of like, keeping everybody safe."

The suspect eventually jumped off the van and ran to the porch of a nearby home, and that's when one officer opened fire, wounding her.

"She was struck by gunfire, but not immediately taken into custody. Ultimately, after about 45 minutes to an hour of negotiations, she was taken into custody and she was transported to a local hospital, where she's in surgery in critical condition," Aguilar said.

LAPD said the woman had three dogs with her in the van. Two of them are with animal control, and officers are still looking for the third.

No other injuries were reported. The incident remains under investigation.