Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen

Share This

Criminal Justice

DTLA Hostage Situation Ends With Fatal Police Shooting

A stone facade apartment building has a window lighted in red and a man in a white shirt can be seen from a building across from it.
Video filmed by Twitter user @_teddybomber across from the apartment captured the moments before and after LAPD SWAT officers entered the apartment and shot and killed a man who had taken a woman hostage at gunpoint.
(
Courtesy @_teddybomber
)

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.

A violent crime spree in downtown Los Angeles Friday night ended with police shooting and killing a man who had allegedly committed a series of violent crimes before breaking into an apartment and holding a woman hostage.

The spree, which also shut down part of downtown as authorities responded, started shortly after 4 p.m. when police started getting calls reporting a man with a gun committing several crimes around 8th and Broadway.

"What we know now is that the suspect had initially approached a man on the sidewalk near 8th and Broadway," the LAPD said on its official Twitter account. "The suspect held a gun to the man’s face and pulled the trigger. Fortunately the gun did not fire.

LAPD officials said the same man shot at a family of three in a nearby business, grazing the head of a 14-year-old. In addition, they said they tied the man to an attempted carjacking of a woman at 7th and Spring Street and also said he tried to steal a man's bike.

Support for LAist comes from

At that point, as police chased him, the man entered an apartment complex at 6th and Main. Surveillance footage showed the man in a "hallway armed with a gun forcing a female to come with him." After an hour-long standoff, SWAT teams entered the building. 

Video posted on Twitter by @_teddybomber, taken from a building across from the apartment, shows the man pacing about while his hostage crouched on the floor. As SWAT teams entered the apartment, several shots are heard, prompting the man to grab the woman and drag her about.

In less than two minutes the tense situation comes to an end with officers shooting the man and rushing the hostage out of the apartment. The man died at the scene and the woman was taken to a hospital.

Authorities have not given details on her condition.

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.

Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.

Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist