PICO RIVERA — Deputies cordoned off a neighborhood and placed schools on lockdown Friday as they hunted for a man who abandoned one stolen car, then carjacked another, authorities said.
The incident began shortly before 2 p.m. when deputies tracked the LoJack signal from a stolen car and began following it, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Sean Geske said.
Deputies, with help from a helicopter, were following the stolen car when the driver abandoned it near Home Depot in the 9200 block of Whittier Boulevard, the sergeant said. Deputies were not in pursuit.
A female passenger was found in a nearby store and detained, officials said.
But the driver — initially described as a Latino man in his 20s who was wearing dark clothing — took a car from another driver by force and continued, Geske said.
Deputies minutes later found the carjacked vehicle abandoned in a neighborhood just to the southwest of the Home Depot, the sergeant said. But the search for the driver continued.
Deputies locked down campuses including St. Hilary Elementary School and Valencia Elementary School as they searched for the suspect, Geske said.
A search perimeter was set up within the boundaries of Mines Avenue to the south, Loch Lomond Drive to the north, Passons Boulevard to the east and Lindsey Avenue to the west.