1 dead, hostages freed after LA standoff
Gunman shoots his grandma, storms store
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 yesterday 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.
About 6.30pm, 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 traumatised’’.
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. Mr 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,’’ Mr Kohles said. He lay on the floor and others around him sobbed.
Christian Dunlop, a real estate agent and actor who lives nearby and frequents the Trader Joe’s, was on a corner near the store when he saw four people run out. One person, an employee, was dragging an injured woman by the hands. “She appeared lifeless,’’ Mr Dunlop said.
He then saw about five employees hang out a second-floor window and drop to the ground, and about 15 other people run to safety from the back of the store. Among them was a police officer carrying a small child, he said.
“I know all the employees. I see them all the time. My heart was just racing and thinking about all the endless possibilities,’’ Mr Dunlop said.
Police chief Michel Moore said the suspect made a “series of demands’’ during the standoff. Police aren’t sure what led to the initial violence that produced the car chase and standoff. Moore said at 1.30pm 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.
Officers were able to track the car using a stolen vehicle tracking system. Outside the store, the man exchanged gunfire with police and the woman was shot and killed, Mr Moore said. Six people, ranging in age from 12 to 81, were taken to hospital.