July 22 (UPI) — A suspect being chased by Los Angeles police crashed his vehicle and ran into a Trader Joe’s store and opened fire, sending customers running for cover while the gunman barricaded himself inside.
After a tense standoff, Los Angeles police tweeted the situation was resolved successfully.
“We have successfully taken the suspect into custody without incident. The situation remains fluid as officers move forward clearing the location.”
Aerial video showed several people leaving the store after the incident ended; one person was on a stretcher. Information about any injuries was not immediately reported.
Police said the suspect, who is in his late teens, shot his grandmother and a younger woman earlier in the day. Police spotted the suspect driving his grandmother’s car in the Hollywood area and a pursuit began, which led to the teen crashing into the Trader Joe’s and running inside the store.
A 20-year-old woman was taken to the hospital in fair condition, removed from a vehicle involved in the crash, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman said.
Aerial video showed officers carrying an injured person out of the store and carrying children out from the store to safety. Other videos show an employee dragging a person out of the store and employees escaping on a rope ladder outside a window.
Shoppers described on social media the scene of gunfire, saying people were running for cover and hiding as the gunman ran into the store.
One shopper, who sought cover behind a wall, said a man opened fire and officers fired back.
NBC Los Angeles
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Officers rescued a group of children after an armed suspect opened fire and barricaded himself inside a Trader Joe’s in the Hollywood area. Live updates: http://4.nbcla.com/bDuQbL8
President Donald Trump tweeted he was watching the situation “very closely,” and that the LAPD was working alongside federal law-enforcement officials.
