(Twitter/Taiu Kunimoto)

"Cop cars started swarming the neighborhood, choppers started coming in," he said. "After a couple of minutes, there were cop cars stationed every five houses, it was pretty nuts." 

The manhunt for an unidentified gunman began after he escaped from police while they were trying to place him under arrest during a traffic stop.

After LAPD officers stopped a car with two men in it in front of Ralph's Supermarket on Vermont and Adams, both men discarded their weapons and fled. One was immediately caught and placed under arrest, but the other escaped into an area with a lot of student housing. 

This triggered a massive police response, with LAPD, campus security, helicopters and K-9 Units all assisting. 

The university's department of public safety issued a Trojan Alert, telling students to stay out of the area. Dozens of students on their way home were kept behind police barricades for hours. For them, initial concern about the police incident gave way to the desire to just get back to their apartments. 

"Everyone was just annoyed," said Lucy Doss, who lives in the area. "They weren't telling us information, everyone was just on their phones trying to figure out what was going on." 

While the students were behind barricades, officers and K-9 Units were going house-to-house in the area of Ellendale Place and Vermont Ave, searching for the suspect. 

After about an hour, the police found the gunman, who had been hiding behind an apartment building on Ellendale. 

The Trojan Alert was lifted shortly after. LAPD officials have not released the names of either of the suspects, and the investigation is ongoing. 

"I wouldn't even say it was that exciting because stuff like this happens all the time," San Filipo said. "It was more of an inconvenience." 

Reach Staff Reporter Russell Simon here. Follow him on Twitter here.