Paramount shooting: Police open fire on sexual assault suspect at Hollywood studios

LAPD is advising the public to stay away from the area

Suspect reportedly armed with knife (CBS News/Twitter)

Police in Hollywood have fired shots during a standoff with a man suspected of carrying out a sexual assault.

Officers swarmed on Paramount Studios on Sunday night after the man barricaded himself into one of the buildings at the site.

A Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) told CBS News that police opened fire before the suspect ran off.

The incident took place at around 10 pm in a building located in the Melrose and Gower area of the studios, police said.

According to CBS, the incident was ongoing as of midnight local time. It is unclear exactly where the suspect is or what condition he is in.

Members of the public had been advised to stay away from the area.

"There is currently heavy police activity within our division in the vicinity of the 5500 block of Melrose Ave," LAPD said in a statement.

"If you live in the area, please stay indoors. If you don’t live in the area, please stay away at this time."

Detectives were focusing their attention on the 'New York Street' part of the studios, with sniffer dogs searching buildings in the lot.

The suspect had been under surveillance by Fullerton police investigators, who had attempted to arrested him on a sexual assault warrant, LA Times reported.

When officers Fullerton officers confronted the suspect, he became uncooperative and proceeded to barricade himself a building.

They contacted LAPD Hollywood Division for assistance, saying the man armed himself with a knife, said C. Nguyen.