By Gregory Yee
Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles police fatally shot a man who they say took a hostage and barricaded himself in a downtown Los Angeles high-rise Friday night.
Police confirmed that the suspect was shot and declared dead at the scene — an apartment complex at 6th and South Main streets.
A woman whom the suspect had taken hostage was transported to a local hospital, police said.
Her condition was not provided Friday.
Officers initially responded around 4:10 p.m. after getting several radio calls about a man who was armed with a gun and committing several crimes in the area of 8th and Broadway.
They later learned that the man had walked up to another man on the sidewalk at 8th Street and Broadway, held a gun to the man’s face and pulled the trigger, police said.
But the gun didn’t fire, police said.
“The suspect then went to a business in the 700 block of Broadway,” police said. “When he entered the business there were three family members inside. One of them was a 14-year-old. The suspect pointed the gun at the group and fired at them. One of those rounds grazed the side of the 14-year-old’s head.”
The boy was taken to a hospital for treatment and is expected to survive, police said.
The suspect moved on to 6th and Spring streets, where he unsuccessfully tried to carjack a woman before fleeing to 7th and Spring, police said. There, he tried to steal a man’s bicycle, police said.
The men struggled and the suspect reached into his waistband, showing he was still armed, police said. At the same time, security officers flagged down police, who chased the suspect into the apartment complex at 6th and Main.
Officers set up a perimeter and were putting together a tactical plan when they were made aware of surveillance footage that showed the suspect holding a woman at gunpoint, police said.
Aware the incident was a hostage situation and based on the suspect’s already violent behavior, authorities feared the man would kill the woman, police said.
SWAT officers breached the apartment and shot the suspect, police said.
A gun was recovered at the scene, police said.
Videos taken by bystanders appear to show the Santa Fe Lofts on East 6th Street as the location of the hours-long standoff.
One video appears to show the suspect holding a gun to the hostage’s head before dragging the hostage to a different area of the room and walking away.
A few seconds pass, and the suspect walks back into the room before a loud explosion rocks the building. The suspect runs. There are more loud booms.
Eventually the suspect grabs the hostage again and moves toward a dark area of the room. There’s another loud boom.
Officers wearing tactical gear can be seen swarming the suspect before several gunshots are fired and the video ends.
Further information about the shooting was not available Friday.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
©2021 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.