Man Held after Shots Fired at Chinese LA Consulate

A man turned himself in to police after shots were fired at the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles on Thursday, hitting the building but causing no injuries, a spokesman said.

The shooting occurred after a scuffle between protesters and a security guard outside the building in the city's Koreatown district, the Los Angeles Times newspaper reported.

Police launched a manhunt for a suspect described as an Asian man either in his late 50s or early 60s with white hair after the early afternoon incident, said a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) spokesman.

"Apparently this man shot numerous rounds into a building, the spokesman told Agence France Presse, adding that "no one was hurt" in the shooting at the Chinese diplomatic building, west of the city's downtown area.

"Around 5:30 or 6:00 pm the possible suspect walked into the Wilshire station and turned himself in," said LAPD spokesman Gregory Baek, giving no further details of the man's identity.

The LA Times reported that a protester fired shots at a security guard outside the consulate, missing his target and hitting a building in the compound instead.

It cited reports indicating that a group of protesters had gathered outside the building, and one of them got into a dispute with a security guard, who allegedly had taken a sign from the man and tossed it into the trash.

The protester got into a vehicle and fired several shots in the direction of the security guard, all of which missed, the newspaper reported.

The consulate did not respond to a request for information about the incident.