Chatauqua Lockdown Ends; Suspect Evades Officers on Foot

The woman, who was suspected of driving under the influence, believed to be armed and barricaded herself inside a Pacific Palisades home after she crashed her vehicle, has given police the slip, authorities said.

Authorities entered the home around 9 p.m. and the woman was gone, police said. They believed she may have fled on foot and may still be in the area. Officers are still looking for the suspect and asking residents to be on the alert and notify police if they see anyone matching her description.

She is described as a 22-year-old white woman, about 5-foot-8 with blonde to light brown hair. Police warned residents not to engage the suspect as she still may be armed.

The incident started at around 2:15 p.m. when police pursued a woman in a silver Suburu Hatchback suspected of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

She had two German Sheppard-looking dogs with her in the car, Scott Wagenselle from Gates Security said.

After she crashed her vehicle into parked cars, the woman went in to a residence on the 1000 block of Chatauqua Boulevard, Officer Bruce Borihanh of Los Angeles Police Department Media Relations said.

A SWAT team responded to the scene after the woman, who claimed to be armed with some kind of weapon, went inside the home and refused to come out, Borihanh said.

There were no injuries reported or threats made and the woman had no hostages

For a time, the area around upper Chatauqua Boulevard north of Sunset Boulevard was in lockdown. The area was in complete gridlock and people were parking in the middle of street, according to Gates Security dispatcher.

The woman may have been a transient from the Lake Tahoe area as her vehicle is registered there, Wagenselle said.

— City News Service contributed to this report.