Los Angeles police shot and killed an armed suspect and rescued a hostage Friday after the suspect pointed his weapon at the victim’s head, police said.
LAPD officers were pursuing a suspect on foot after he allegedly fired at people downtown and attempted to carjack a woman, authorities said. Officers followed the suspect to an apartment building and observed his actions on a surveillance camera.
“They saw the suspect in a hallway armed with a gun forcing a female to come with him,” the department tweeted late Friday. “At that point, we knew we had a hostage situation. While LAPD personnel were outside of the complex they saw through a window, the suspect holding a gun to the hostage’s head.”
SWAT officers then entered the apartment building based on the “already incredibly violent actions & fearing the suspect was going to kill the hostage.”
The suspect was shot by officers and died at the scene. The hostage was taken to a hospital but her medical condition was not immediately known, police said.
A witness reportedly recorded the incident from across the street and posted a video on Twitter. The video shows the suspect grabbing the hostage, then shows SWAT officers moving in – plus the sound of multiple gunshots.
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The department said officers had originally responded to the reports of an armed man suspected of committing crimes in the area that allegedly included putting a gun to a man’s face and firing – although the gun didn’t go off – and firing at a 14-year-old inside a business. The child’s head was grazed, police said and he was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening wounds.