Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
■ One woman was killed during a standoff at a busy Los Angeles store.
Gunman ran into busy L.A. store, surrendered
LOS ANGELES — A woman was shot and killed when a gunman ran into a busy Los Angeles supermarket where he held dozens of people hostage for about three hours Saturday before handcuffing himself and surrendering to police.
About two hours before taking the hostages, police say the man shot his grandmother seven times and wounded another woman, who he forced into a car. Police chased the vehicle and exchanged gunfire with the man, who crashed into a pole outside the Trader Joe’s in the city’s Silver Lake section and ran into the store.
Frightened customers and workers dove for cover as police bullets fired at the suspect shattered the store’s glass doors. Some inside the supermarket climbed out windows.
Heavily armed officers in riot gear stood along the side of the store and used mirrors to look inside as hostage negotiators tried to coax the man into freeing his 40 to 50 hostages and surrendering.
At about 6:30 p.m., about three hours after the standoff began, the man agreed to handcuff himself and walked out the front door, surrounded by four of the hostages. The unidentified man, who police said is about 28, was immediately taken into custody.
Mayor Eric Garcetti congratulated police and firefighters for their work and mourned the loss of life.
“The heroism that was shown today was second to none and the teams that were able to respond, secure the perimeter and engage in conversation with the suspect no doubt saved lives today,” he said.
The hostage situation that played out on live television began around 1:30 p.m. when the suspect shot his grandmother and another woman in South Los Angeles and then forced the other woman into his grandmother’s car, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said. The grandmother was in critical condition.
Officers tried to stop the car in Hollywood, but the man refused to pull over, Moore said. During the chase, the suspect fired at officers, shooting out the back window of his car, before he crashed.
Outside the store, the man exchanged gunfire with police again and a woman was shot and killed, Moore said.