1 Killed In Hostage Situation At Los Angeles Trader Joes

A woman was killed when a suspected gunman barricaded himself inside of a crowded Trader Joe’s grocery store in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake neighborhood on Saturday. An estimated 40 to 50 people were inside the store at the start of the standoff, police said.

The hostage situation took place after a police pursuit, which ended in an officer-involved shooting near the Trader Joe’s. The woman killed was struck by gunfire inside the store, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said during a press conference.

After three hours, the suspect walked out of the store and was taken into custody “without incident,” police said.

Before the barricade situation, LAPD officers were pursuing the gunman, who is suspected of shooting his grandmother multiple times around 1 p.m., LAPD Officer Mike Lopez told HuffPost. A second woman who was also injured during that attack. 

According to police, the suspect kidnapped the second woman and fled the scene of the first shooting in a car. He was later spotted by police in Hollywood. Following a pursuit, he crashed a vehicle in front of the Trader Joe’s.

After exiting the car, the suspect exchanged fire with police and was injured on his arm before running into the store, Moore said. During the standoff, officers pulled the woman who was shot from the store and rendered aid. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Video of the standoff appears to show officers removing a woman from the suspect’s car.

Inside the store, the suspect took “numerous” hostages and “held them against their will,” Moore said. Some victims barricaded themselves in different parts of the store.

During the three-hour standoff, the suspect released some hostages while officers were able to rescue others. A crisis negotiation team communicated with the suspect, convincing him to handcuff himself and walk out of the store. 

Footage from news helicopters showed police officers helping people from the store during the standoff. Officers removed two kids from a car in the parking lot and carried them to safety. Another video shows people climbing out of a store window and down a ladder.

The suspect is a 28-year-old black male, Lopez said.

President Donald Trump tweeted that federal law enforcement was assisting LAPD with the incident and said he was watching the “possible hostage situation very closely.”