OFFICIALS LAUD CRISP RESPONSE; AGENCIES' PERFORMANCE IN FACE OF CRISIS CALLED QUICK, THOROUGH.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

The first police officers arrived at the North Valley Jewish Community Center just four minutes after the attack, as the haze of gunsmoke still hung in the air.

Rapidly, they were followed by more than 200 officers who secured the area, searched methodically for the gunman, interviewed frantic parents and children and tracked down leads from across the San Fernando Valley. Dozens of firefighters and federal agents joined in the operation.

Even though the gunman eluded capture and surrendered in Las Vegas, Los Angeles city officials and police said the manhunt and response was a skilled and professional operation.

``It's hard to catch one person on a mission,'' said Los Angeles Councilwoman Laura Chick, who has chaired the City Council's Public Safety Committee for five years.

``But what the department did was move quickly to care for the victims and deal very, very professionally with a delicate situation in caring for other children and dealing with distraught parents.''

The rampage blamed on Buford O'Neal Furrow Jr. didn't end at the Jewish Community Center. Twenty minutes after officers arrived at the shooting scene, the LAPD got a report that a waitress's green 1999 Toyota Corolla was hijacked by a man matching Furrow's description from a parking lot near Van Nuys Airport.

When officers arrived at the scene, about four miles from the community center shooting, they found a 1986 red and gray van loaded with thousands of rounds of ammunition and hate material. And it eventually led investigators to identify the suspect.

Eight miles away and barely a half hour after the carjacking, postal worker Joseph Ileto was fatally shot in Chatsworth - a crime officials believe Furrow committed.

Forces converge on scene

Within an hour of the day-camp attack, members of Robbery-Homicide, SWAT and bomb squad officers, detectives and police and fire helicopters were in Granada Hills to conduct a street-by-street search of the neighborhood surrounding the center. They were quickly joined by about 40 FBI agents and a dozen from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Furrow managed to stay just ahead of the army of police and flee to Las Vegas before turning himself in to the FBI early Wednesday.

``He left before we got there,'' said LAPD Cmdr. David Kalish. ``Even though we got there in less than three, four minutes, it's hard to play catch-up. It's a big city and this was not a locked facility.

``He walked in and immediately started shooting. There were approximately 70 rounds and with the weapon he had, you're talking about less than a minute.''

CHP Officer Lou Aviles said officers were told to be on the lookout for the green Corolla that Furrow had hijacked, but they didn't set up roadblocks or any special patrols because there was no way to anticipate where he would be going.

``There are so many freeways that crisscross the state. The state is so huge. Unless they can really narrow (it) down that a certain person is taking a certain route, it would be really difficult to roadblock every freeway.''

``People take taxis to Las Vegas all the time,'' Aviles added. ``It's not as rare as it seems. I've given several tickets to people who were taking taxis to Las Vegas.''

Victims came first

When the first officers arrived, Kalish said they were faced with a terroristlike situation.

``The first thing they did was take care of the victims, stabilize the location and assure everyone was rescued,'' Kalish said. ``But we didn't know what we had. We didn't know at the time it was one gunman. We didn't know if there were others.''

Deputy Mayor Noelia Rodriguez said Mayor Richard Riordan was impressed and pleased with the department's response and professionalism.

``He moved very quickly,'' Rodriguez said. ``The suspect went in, did what he wanted to do and left. It's hard to stop a lone madman. Unfortunately, where there's a will, there's a way.''

``Officers were there in three or four minutes and did what they were supposed to do. They were able to minimize the extent of injuries and secure the neighborhood. We were able to bring in an incredible amount of resources in a short time - resources we take for granted, such as helicopters to fly the children to hospitals.

``This was a full-scale production.''

Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, who now chairs the Public Safety Committee, said she also was pleased with the department's response.

``They came in a on a horrid, outrageous crime and moved quickly to protect everybody,'' Miscikowski said. ``They had concerned parents and scared children and were able to handle the job professionally.''

Council to be briefed

Miscikowski has asked Parks and other officials to debrief the City Council on Friday on what occurred and what the department would do differently.

Police Commission President Gerald Chaleff said he was impressed with the department's response.

``What this shows is what I've always said: We have incredibly talented and brave people serving in this department as you saw with them going into a situation without knowing if they would be shot at,'' Chaleff said.

Commissioner Raquelle de la Rocha, who was at the scene throughout most of the day, said she thought the department responded in an excellent fashion in securing a seven-block area and dealing with other agencies.

``It was one of the most professional operations I have seen in a difficult situation,'' De la Rocha said. ``Everything worked out the way the training goes.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo: (1) As gunsmoke still hanging in the air, Los Angeles Police Department Special Weapons and Tactics team members take cover behind walls as they search the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills for a gunman Tuesday.

(2) Children from the North Valley Jewish Community Center, who were in the center when shots were fired in the lobby, are led to safety by LAPD officers after Tuesday's attack.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer