Gunman held after deadly LA store hostage standoff

Los Angeles, July 22 

A man shot his grandmother and girlfriend and then led the police on a car chase that ended when he crashed into a pole and ran inside a busy supermarket as bullets from officers shattered the front doors.

About three hours after he took hostages in the store, the suspect surrendered. One woman was killed inside the supermarket, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said.

Officers with riot gear, armed with rifles, stood along the side of the Trader Joe’s in the Silver Lake area yesterday afternoon and used mirrors to try to look inside as hostages periodically came out the front door with the hands raised. At least one person was injured but expected to survive.

The suspect walked out with a cluster of four hostages and appeared to be already handcuffed as the group emerged through the front door. The police immediately surrounded the suspect, searched him and then brought him to a waiting ambulance. The man appeared to have blood on his left arm. Investigators believe the suspect, whose name hasn’t been released, had shot his grandmother and girlfriend in South Los Angeles and then fled in a 2015 Toyota Camry, Sgt. Barry Montgomery, a Los Angeles police spokesman, said.

Officers spotted the suspect’s car near Hollywood and tried to pull him over, but the man refused to stop and led officers on a pursuit, he said. During the chase, the suspect shot “multiple rounds” at officers, though no officers were struck by the gunfire, he said. The suspect eventually crashed his car outside of the Trader Joe’s supermarket and then ran into the store.  — PTI