Suspected gunman in custody; students, staff evacuated from Sylmar school

A man suspected of carrying a rifle near the Sylmar Charter High School was taken into custody Monday afternoon, shortly after all students and staff were evacuated, police said.

William Cooper, an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, said police took the man into custody peacefully at about 3 p.m. The man was at an apartment complex on the north side of the school in the San Fernando Valley, the LAPD tweeted.

Six to eight students and roughly two dozen staff members were evacuated from the campus, a school police spokesperson said. Few people were at the school because the campus has not yet returned to in-person learning.

Cooper said calls about a man waving a knife at passing vehicles came in at about 12:30 p.m. Responding officers spotted the suspect with a rifle and requested backup, Cooper said. It was unclear if the man had a knife when officers saw him, Cooper said.

LAPD, SWAT and K-9 teams contained the man at a nearby apartment complex on Dronfield Avenue and Sayre Street, he said.