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SUNLAND (CNS) - Authorities today were looking for an armed man seen in the Sunland area, who police say is a person of interest in a recent series of burglaries.
SWAT units from the Los Angeles Police Department joined several patrol cars and at least one K-9 unit around 4:15 a.m. in the 103000 block of Sunland Boulevard, where police set up a command post and began to organize a search for the suspect, said LAPD Office Lizeth Lomeli.
The active search continued for several hours until after daybreak, when it was suspended, police said.
The suspect is considered a ``person of interest'' in the investigation into at least eight residential and commercial burglaries in the nearby Shadow Hills neighborhood and the northeast San Fernando Valley, according to the LAPD.
This morning, the man was seen near the Green Verdugo Reservoir close to the Foothill (210) Freeway on property owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power before he ran away and began hiding.
A DWP security guard reportedly saw the suspect on a camera carrying a rifle and notified police. The man was described as Hispanic, about 30 to 40 years of age, with short dark hair.
``There is a possibility that this is a person experiencing homelessness,'' LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told CBS2. Officers urged people to call authorities if they see the suspect.
As a precaution during the search, the California Highway Patrol issued a SigAlert for the closure of the east and westbound Sunland Boulevard off-ramps from the Foothill (210) Freeway to limit traffic from entering the area.