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FBI agent opens fire during suspected kidnapping; chase ensues

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An FBI agent shot at a man in Canoga Park after it appeared that he was trying to kidnap a woman and force her into his car, law enforcement authorities said late Wednesday.

The man left he scene and led officers on a high speed chase across the San Fernando Valley and into Malibu, where he was on a hillside overlooking the ocean Wednesday night as officers mobilized below.

The man was taken into custody about 9 p.m. and could be seen with officers near patrol cars on Pacific Coast Highway, television news footage showed.

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The man was being treated at a hospital Wednesday night for injures. It was not immediately clear how he was injured.

Los Angeles police said the incident began Wednesday evening in an L.A. Fitness parking lot near De Soto Avenue and Nordoff Street. The man allegedly fired at least one shot at an off-duty officer, said Officer Bruce Borihanh of the Los Angeles Police Department. It was not immediately clear whether that officer was the FBI agent.

Borihanh said that the officer was not injured and that the man took off and led LAPD and CHP officers on a high-speed chase on the 101 Freeway and into Malibu.

Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles, said the agent fired his weapon after witnessing the suspected kidnapping. She did not have any additional details.

The man drove erratically at high speeds, weaving through traffic on the freeway, according to television news footage.

He bailed out the car and ran down the brushy hillside near Malibu Canyon Road and PCH, the news footage showed. He was on the ground as patrol cars swarmed the area and officers gathered below on the highway.

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Police shined a bright light on the man as an LAPD helicopter circled overhead.

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