UPDATE: Police Search for Resident of Duplex Where Shots Were Fired

This story was primarily written and reported by Patch editor Nicole Mooradian.

SWAT officers entered a duplex in a Manhattan Beach neighborhood Saturday morning after receiving a call of shots fired; however, nobody was inside, and police have not been able to find the resident, a Manhattan Beach police spokesman said.

The incident was at 3309 Bayview Drive in the Sand Section. It began about 4 a.m. when police received a shots fired call, a Manhattan Beach police watch commander said.

Officers responded to the scene but did not enter the residence when they saw a broken window and blood, calling in resources, including SWAT. A perimeter was set up, a few nearby residences evacuated, and lots of streets and alleys blocked off. Area police agencies were also called in, according to Manhattan Beach police Sgt. Paul Ford.

A sheriff's helicopter orbited as several blocks of beachfront homes were cordoned off.

A SWAT team entered the building before noon after detectives got a search warrant, Ford said.

"They deployed gas into the location, and they (had) to wait a certain amount of time for that gas to take effect" before entering the residence, he said. Once inside, officers found "trickles of blood" and "a sign of a bullet casing."

"(There was) no mass amount of blood," Ford said. No weapons were found in plain sight, and there was "nothing obvious to SWAT officers."

Detectives will now process the scene and gather evidence.

Previous reports of a woman's body being thrown outside the residence were false, said Ford.

Police have not been able to contact the resident, whose name has not been released, he said. The investigation is still in early stages, and Ford would not speculate whether it was a missing persons case or what sort of crime may have been committed. 

"There were shots fired, but we are not releasing how many yet," he said. "We are still trying to locate the property owner. We do not know whether he is a suspect or the victim in this."

Manhattan Beach police called in assistance from El Segundo, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach, along with the joint agency SWAT team. The Manhattan Beach SWAT team entered the home; however, a SWAT team from El Segundo was also at the scene.

Two officers from the Redondo Police Department were dispatched to assist in cordoning off the area, according to the Redondo Beach police watch commander.

Having a SWAT call in Manhattan Beach is a rare event, said the 19-1/2-year veteran.

"The last time I can remember SWAT being called out in Manhattan Beach was in 2005 for a suicidal person," Ford said.

—City News Service and Patch editor Liz Spear contributed to this report.