One dead, dozens of hostages freed after Los Angeles supermarket standoff
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. No hostages were seriously hurt.
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 inside.
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 and others barricaded themselves in rooms as scores of police and firefighters and 18 ambulances converged on the scene and prepared for mass casualties.
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., 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. Police said he had a wound to his arm.
Mayor Eric Garcetti congratulated police and firefighters for their work and mourned the loss of life at the Trader Joe’s where he and his wife regularly shopped when they lived in the neighbourhood.
“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, adding “our hearts go out to everyone who has been traumatized.”
Among those who survived the harrowing afternoon was 91-year-old Don Kohles. He lives in the neighbourhood and was walking into the supermarket when he saw “two police cars coming like a bat out of hell” and the suspect crashed into the pole.
The driver got out and police started firing at him as he ran toward the Trader Joe’s. Kohles hurried inside and he and others took cover as the suspect ran in.
“Those bullets went right over the back of me as he was running right down the main aisle,” Kohles said. He was terrorized as he lay on the floor and others around him sobbed.
Police Chief Michel Moore said the suspect made a “series of demands” during the standoff but crisis negotiators believed they could convince him to surrender peacefully.
Police aren’t sure what led to the initial violence that produced the car chase and standoff. Moore said at about 1:30 p.m. the suspect shot his grandmother and another woman in a South Los Angeles home and then forced the other woman into his grandmother’s car. The grandmother was in critical condition while the other woman suffered a grazing wound.