Police arrest suspected gunman after Koreatown store standoff
Police took an armed man into custody after he barricaded himself inside a store with customers in Koreatown, authorities said Tuesday afternoon.
Several people were locked inside the store on Vermont Avenue between 7th and 8th streets with the man, said Officer Lizeth Lomeli, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department. They have since been released.
Police received reports that the man had a gun and fired shots outside businesses near West 8th Street and South Westmoreland Avenue the store shortly after noon on Tuesday. One person was shot in the foot, though the victim’s condition was not immediately known.
The gunman then reportedly ran about a mile away, to the area between 7th and 8th streets, and businesses in that area were put on lockdown, according to police and employees in the area. Police pursued the suspect on foot when he ran into the store.
“There’s a lot of SWAT and firetrucks,†Monica Kim, an employee of East West Travel Center, which is in the area where the man was barricaded, said earlier. “This whole block is blocked by police.â€
Several news outlets reported that the man was barricaded inside A&A Shine Bargain, but police did not immediately confirm that. Kim said she heard three or four faint shooting sounds nearby. It’s unclear whether the man fired shots in that area.
Footage from ABC 7 showed several people being escorted out of one of the stores in the shopping center and led to an armored vehicle, before being released later.
The suspect’s name will not be released until he is booked.
Colleen Shalby contributed to this report.
Twitter: @r_valejandra
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