One person is in custody following a suspected shooting Thursday afternoon in Roseville, California, at Mahany Park.
A suspect allegedly fired at law enforcement officers, according to police dispatch audio. Scanner traffic indicated a California Highway Patrol officer was reportedly shot in the hand and chest.
Authorities have not yet confirmed any information regarding injuries. A CHP spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Police said they would provide further details about the incident in a news conference set for 4 p.m. Pacific.
The incident drew a large police presence on Pleasant Grove Boulevard beginning around 12:30 p.m.
The Roseville Police Department in a social media post just after 3:05 p.m. said the “suspect has been taken into custody and the scene is safe and no longer active.” The department as of that time had not released any specific details of what happened.
“There is an active law enforcement situation near Mahany Park in Roseville,” the department said in an earlier Facebook post, at 1:50 p.m. “Roseville Police and other law enforcement agencies are on scene stabilizing the situation. The area is safe but please avoid it until further notice.”
Police were using armored vehicles to attempt to contact a shooter as of 1:15 p.m. at a location near Mahany Park, according to dispatch radio traffic. Multiple ambulances were also responding to the scene, according to radio traffic.
The suspect was taken into custody shortly before 1:25 p.m., according to scanner audio.
An officer announced over the radio at 12:34 p.m. that shots were first fired at Mahany Park. The officer was in pursuit.
Firefighters at Roseville Fire Department Station 5, adjacent to the park, reported active gunfire near the station, according to scanner traffic. City parks and recreation personnel were hunkered down, taking shelter near the fire station.
Officers reported the suspect, who they could see, was “armed with a pistol and taking shots at officers,” according to radio traffic. At one point, a civilian was on one of the fields at the park with a dog; officers worked to evacuate the person.
About eight minutes after the shooting began, a CHP officer was reportedly shot near the fire station. Firefighters brought him into the station and performed medical aid, according to police radio. His condition was not immediately clear.
“There is an active police situation in Mahany Park at this time,” the Roseville Parks and Recreation Department said in a Facebook post just after 1:15 p.m. “Mahany Fitness Center and Riley Library are currently in lockdown.”
Lockdowns were lifted at Mahany Park facilities around 3 p.m., the police department said. The fitness center and library will remain closed the rest of the day. Children attending a day camp in the area were moved to Quail Glen Elementary School for pickup by parents.
Dozens of law enforcement vehicles from multiple agencies remained at the scene as of 3:15 p.m. Activity centered on the park, which includes softball fields and a dog park.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office assisted with the response, spokesman Sgt. Amar Gandhi said. Gandhi said “major” law enforcement activity was underway. Placer County sheriff’s deputies were also at the scene.
Pleasant Grove Road was closed to traffic between Woodcreek and Del Webb boulevards as of 2:30 p.m.
No other details were immediately available.
Incident took place near school, park and businesses
Mahany Park is immediately adjacent to a Roseville fire station, sharing a driveway with the park’s parking lot.
The scene is near Woodcreek High School and the Roseville Aquatics Complex. Classes were not in session at Woodcreek High due to spring break. The campus was briefly locked down for staff working at the school, Roseville Joint Union High School District board president Pete Constant said.
Several other businesses are located near the incident, including the Roseville Utility Exploration Center, Mahany Fitness Center and Martha Riley Community Library. Across the street is an apartment complex, and a plaza with a Raley’s supermarket, Starbucks and banks.
‘We got into a safe spot’: Teen witnesses heard gunfire
Ben Mercado, 13, was with friends at the batting cages at Mahany Park when they heard gunfire.
“Roughly 20, 25 shots” to start with, Mercado said. He believed what he heard was a shootout between the suspect and police. “We dropped down, got into a safe spot in the cage.”
Mercado said he and his friends crawled on the ground toward police, who had them run to a nearby parking lot. He said he heard roughly another 15 to 20 gunshots after leaving the batting cages for a total of about 40 shots.
The teen, off from school for spring break, said he goes to Mahany Park frequently with his friends to play baseball.
Ben’s mom, Nicole Mercado, is a nurse and was at work when her friends started texting her, asking her whether her son was at Mahany Park.
“They hang out here all the time,” Mercado said about her son and his friends. “I was freaked out.”
Around 12:40 p.m., she received a text message from her son saying he and his friends were just in the middle of a shootout.
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