Off-duty Cop Held Up at ATM, Shots Fired

Westminster (myFOXla.com) - An off-duty police officer fired shots at an armed robber who confronted him at an ATM in Westminster this morning, but the suspect got away, police said.

As the officer was using the ATM at the Chase bank branch at 14041 Beach Blvd. about 6:45 a.m., the robber walked up to him, showed him a gun and demanded money, Westminster police Lt. Kevin Baker said.

Baker did not know which agency the officer works for, but said it was somewhere in Los Angeles County. It's also unclear whether the robber fired back at the officer, Baker said.

The robber ran away and the officer chased after him, but lost him.

"We set up a perimeter, did a house-to-house search, called out the bloodhounds and had a helicopter in the air looking for him," Baker said. "You name it, we did it, but he got away."

The robber dumped the gun in an alley, and the weapon was recovered, Baker said.

The robber, who is about 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds, wore a blue hoodie sweatshirt and blue jeans, Baker said.