A suspect being chased by Los Angeles police crashed his vehicle and ran into a Trader Joe’s store and opened fire, killing one woman.
July 22 (UPI) — A suspect chased by Los Angeles police crashed his vehicle and ran into a Trader Joe’s store and opened fire, killing one woman as the gunman barricaded himself inside.
After a tense four-hour stand-off Saturday, Los Angeles police tweeted: « We have successfully taken the suspect into custody without incident. The situation remains fluid as officers move forward clearing the location. »
At approximately 6:40 p.m. in the Silver Lake section of the city, five hostages departed with the suspect in handcuffs.
Erlier, he had crashed into a pole at the store. A 20-year-old woman was taken to the hospital in fair condition, removed from a vehicle involved in the crash, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman said.
The suspect « jumped out of the car, and it looked like he shot some rounds off when he got out of the car, » Dan Zito, who said he was only feet away from the crash, said to KNBC-TV . « And (the police) returned some fire at him, but he ran straight in [to the Trader Joe’s]. »
Police said the suspect, who is in his late teens, shot his grandmother and a younger woman earlier in the day elsewhere. Around 1:30 p.m., police spotted the suspect driving his grandmother’s car in the Hollywood area and a pursuit began.
Aerial video showed officers carrying a injured person of the store and carrying children out from the store to safety. Other videos showed an employee dragging a person out of the store and employees escaping on a rope ladder outside a window.
Six patients, including a 12-year-old boy, were transported to a hospital. They all were listed in « fair » condition.
Lynne Westafer, a KCBS-TV news producer, was one of those people inside the store. The visibly upset suspect asked to speak to his « granny » several times.
« He did not seem high on drugs, to me, » Westafer said. « He was shot, and there was a woman who […] really worked to try to keep him calm and sort of, almost advocate on his behalf.
« He seemed like he might have been in shock, actually, ’cause he was very cold, and they kept giving him, you know, sweatshirts and things like that. »
Shoppers described on social media the scene of gunfire, saying people were running for cover and hiding as the gunman ran into the store.
One shopper, who sought cover behind a wall, said a man opened fire and officers fired back.
President Donald Trump tweeted he was watching the situation « very closely, » and that the LAPD was working alongside federal law-enforcement officials.
