The manhunt for former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner has taken an even more dramatic turn.
Updated 9:00 p.m. EST: The cabin in which the ex-cop is believed to be barricaded is on fire. "TV helicopters showed the fire burning freely with no apparent effort to extinguish it," the AP reported.
Updated 7:00 p.m. EST: According to AP reports citing the LAPD, Dorner is believed to be barricaded in the San Bernardino Mountains in a cabin. SWAT teams surrounding the otherwise empty property are asking him to surrender.
The AP reported, "LAPD held a brief news conference Tuesday, confirming that authorities think it's Christopher Dorner who's holed up in a cabin in the Big Bear Lake area, after a shootout that wounded two officers.
LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith asked news agencies not to broadcast live reports because the person in the cabin might be watching television."
Original post: According to the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday afternoon:
Christopher Dorner was engaged in a shootout with federal authorities in the Big Bear area Tuesday, a law enforcement source told The Times.
The shooting occurred after Dorner burglarized a home, tied up a couple and stole their car, the source said.
It was not immediately clear whether Dorner was in custody.
A second source said there was an active crime scene but did not have details.
Law enforcement officials were swarming the area.
According to local TV news, Dorner left the home he had burglarized when a hostage was able to escape and call 911. Three local schools are on lockdown and one officer has been reported shot on police scanners.
Huge amounts of gunfire, including automatic, has been reported heard from the shootout site.
The situation is being livestreamed by local NBC News:
View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.
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