The LAPD shoots an armed man who barricaded himself in a building with a hostage

A Californian man engaged in a sadistic shootout on Friday, terrorizing several blocks of downtown Los Angeles and taking a hostage before being killed by cops in a dramatic filmed raid, police said.

Videos posted on twitter showed police raiding a ten story loft building in downtown LA where the gunman barricaded himself with a hostage.

The horrific sequence of events leading up to the clash began at around 4:10 p.m., when police said the imbalanced suspect attempted to shoot a man in the face at close range on a sidewalk, but “luckily the weapon did not fire “.

He then walked into a business and fired his gun at a family of three, hitting a 14-year-old boy in the head. The teenager was being treated in a hospital and had to survive, according to the LAPD.

After the shooting, the gunman continued to rampage, attempting to hijack a woman in a car and brawl with a cyclist nearby, cops said.

Officers pursued him into the residential building on 6th Street and South Main Street and discovered surveillance footage from inside the apartment complex showing the suspect “in a hallway armed with a gun. fire forcing a woman to accompany him “.

“At that time, we knew we had a hostage situation,” LAPD said. said on twitter.

A man dressed in white could be seen through large windows pointing a gun at the woman’s head as she knelt, before dragging her to another area of ​​the unit, footage captured from a building across the street.

Soon after, several loud apparent flash bangs could be heard as the man ran to another room.

As the explosions continued, the man was seen grabbing the woman again and stepping out of sight, as officers from the SWAT team stormed the area and gunshots rang out.

An officer shot dead the suspect, the LAPD said. The hostage was taken to hospital. The tactical team is unscathed.

The incident occurred eight blocks from a hostage-taking on Wednesday night, where police shot dead a woman who emerged from a tent holding a person at gunpoint, KTLA reported .

Based on the already incredibly violent actions and fearing that the suspect would kill the hostage, SWAT entered the apartment. An OIS occurred and the suspect was shot and died at the scene. The hostage was taken to a local hospital. The firearm is on the scene.

– LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) October 9, 2021

Both shootings took place near the Skid Row neighborhood, known for its high crime rate and prolific homeless settlements.

City officials have tried to attract a new class of residents to the area in recent years, according to reports.

“Active crime scene right outside my building for the 3rd time in 3 months. DTLA is a joke I’ll never live here again. What good is a luxury apartment in hell ?, one person tweeted.