SHOTS FIRED AT CHP OFFICERS NET ARREST CAPTURE MADE ON 14 FREEWAY.

Byline: ALEX DOBUZINSKIS Staff Writer

CANYON COUNTRY -- A self-proclaimed gang member stopped for speeding shot at two CHP officers and later tried to carjack two vehicles before his arrest, a CHP spokesman said Thursday.

Investigators are unsure why Charles Girabay, 21, opened fire with a semiautomatic pistol after he was pulled over on the Antelope Valley Freeway at 7:15p.m. Wednesday, CHP Officer John Lutz said.

A California Highway Patrol officer was approaching the passenger side of Girabay's Toyota Sienna when the motorist opened fire, forcing the officer to take cover as another officer returned fire, Lutz said.

Girabay drove off south on the freeway and apparently lost control of the Sienna van at the nearest exit, Soledad Canyon Road, he said.

When officers arrived, they found the van on its side and abandoned, and they heard gunshots from the northbound side of the freeway ramps, Lutz said.

Girabay had tried to carjack two vehicles, including a Ford F-150 pickup truck that he fired at when the driver drove away, Lutz said. The driver of the pickup was hit in the hand.

Girabay then ran away, throwing away his gun, and ending up on the freeway.

``At first, he was noncompliant, but as more units arrived, he became more compliant,'' Lutz said.

Girabay, a Lake View Terrace resident who reportedly told authorities he is in a gang, was booked on several counts of attempted murder, including attempted murder of a police officer. He was being held in lieu of $1million bail.

A CHP canine unit found the semiautomatic pistol Girabay had thrown away, Lutz said.

The CHP is investigating the shooting. As is routine, the county District Attorney's Office will review the CHP's investigation because an officer opened fire.