An off-duty deputy who lives in Westridge fired a round into the air while chasing after some children over the weekend, prompting his suspension from the Sheriff’s Department.

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Deputy Sung Pak, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was twice the victim of a prank called “ding-dong-ditch,” said Steve Whitmore, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The incident happened Saturday around 8:10 p.m., Whitmore said.

“It’s when kids ring the doorbell and then ran away before the (Pak) answered the door,” Whitmore said.

There was about 15-20 children, from younger kids to teenagers, Whitemore said.

“They came back a second time and (Pak) followed them on foot,” he said.

Pak apparently caught up to three of the teenagers.

When it looked like a few of the older ones were going to confront Pak, he identified himself as a sheriff’s deputy, pulled out his service revolver and fired a round into the air as a warning shot, Whitmore said.

The incident was being investigated because the initial reports caused suspicion to believe that Pak fired his weapon “in a suspicious manner,” Whitmore said.

Pak has been “relieved of duty, suspended with pay while the investigation is being conducted.

Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station officials who were reached for comment referred all questions to downtown, because the incident was being investigated by the Sheriff’s Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau.

It was confirmed, however, that while Pak lived in the Santa Clarita Valley, he did not work for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.

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