Armed prowler spotted in West Hills neighborhood

Seemingly-armed man seen prowling SFV neighborhood

A neighbor said he saw a man in the West Hills area looking into the windows of homes and trying to get into cars. Hours later the same man appeared on surveillance video, apparently armed.

LOS ANGELES - Residents in West Hills are on edge after an armed prowler was spotted on video going door to door to homes in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood.

Doorbell and cellphone video showed the man walking onto properties near Valley Circle and Stag St. Tuesday night. He appeared to be armed with a gun.

"He was looking through their windows and trying to get into their gate. And then he just walked through to the next neighbor's yard," said resident Brandon Taylor.

"I saw the suspect hop over a fence into another person's property," he added.

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He said he called 911, but since the man had veered back onto public property, he was sent to a non-emergency number and put on hold for more than 20 minutes.

"I didn't see him actually get into a car or anything, but I watched him walk up and he was jiggling the handles, trying to get in and trying gates to people's doors."

The Los Angeles Police Department said they released a bulletin notice but didn't locate him. About three hours later, he appeared on surveillance video again.

FOX 11 reached out to LAPD about the wait times, but did not receive a response.