A woman was killed in a supermarket in Los Angeles in the United States on Saturday, after police officers chased a man who had shot his grandmother and girlfriend. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the suspect took hostages inside the store, but later surrendered, CNN reported.
Investigators believe the unidentified suspect, in his late teens, shot his grandmother and girlfriend around 1.30 pm local time (2 am Indian Standard Time on Sunday) and then fled in car, AP reported quoting Los Angeles police spokesperson Sergeant Barry Montgomery. Police officers attempted to stop the car near Hollywood, but the suspect evaded them and fled. He also shot “multiple rounds” at the officers, though no one was wounded, Montgomery said.
Eventually, the suspect crashed his car near the Trader Joe’s supermarket in Silver Lake area and entered the store. He took several hostages, but armed officers surrounded the building and fired shots into the supermarket. After three hours, the suspect surrendered, emerging from the store already handcuffed, with with a group of four hostages, AP said.
“We have successfully taken the suspect into custody without incident,” the Los Angeles Police Department tweeted. “The situation remains fluid as officers move forward clearing the location.”
As many as 18 ambulances and more than 100 firefighters were rushed to the spot, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman David Ortiz told CNN.
It is unclear whether the deceased woman was killed in police firing or shot by the suspect. The Los Angeles Police Department merely said she had been “struck by gunfire”, and died immediately.
United States President Donald Trump said that he was watching the “possible hostage situation very closely”. “Los Angeles Police Department working with federal law enforcement,” Trump tweeted.
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