Armed suspect shot by police at El Camino College in Torrance

TORRANCE, Calif. (KABC) -- A suspect who called police saying he had a hostage at a parking lot at El Camino College in Torrance was wounded in an officer-involved shooting on Thursday.

El Camino College Police Chief Michael Trevis said they received a call shortly after 11 a.m. from a suspect who claimed to have a hostage in Parking Lot F. As officers were responding to the scene, the suspect called again to say he was armed with a gun.

When officers arrived at Parking Lot F near stairwell 8 on the ground level, the suspect produced a gun and pointed it at police, and two officers opened fire.

The suspect, an 18-year-old man, was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.

So far, police have not located a hostage. A handgun was recovered at the scene.

"It appears that he did not have hostages, but again, it is too early to tell. No one has come forward at this point," Trevis said.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was called in for the investigation, and Parking Lot F was closed.

Investigators are trying to find clues in the backpack he was carrying to figure out what the suspect's motive was.

"There could be a desire to engage the police for that 'suicide by cop' idea," said Lt. Dave Dolson of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. "We still have to put a lot of pieces together before we're to come to that conclusion."

Authorities say the suspect was a former student of El Camino College, but he was not currently enrolled.

The campus remained open during the investigation, and classes were not canceled.