The Los Angeles police shot and killed an armed suspect while rescuing a hostage Friday after the suspect pointed his weapon at the victim’s head, MTO News has learned.
According to LAPD officers, they were pursuing a suspect on foot after he allegedly fired gunshots at people downtown and attempted to carjack a woman, authorities said.
Officers claim that they followed the suspect to an apartment building and observed his actions on a surveillance camera, MTO News has learned.
“They saw the suspect in a hallway armed with a gun forcing a female to come with him,” the department tweeted late Friday. “At that point, we knew we had a hostage situation. While LAPD personnel were outside of the complex they saw through a window, the suspect holding a gun to the hostage’s head.”
SWAT officers then entered the apartment building based on the “already incredibly violent actions & fearing the suspect was going to kill the hostage.” And it was all captured on video (see above).
The suspect was shot by officers and died at the scene. The hostage was taken to a hospital but her medical condition was not immediately known, police said.
A witness reportedly recorded the incident from across the street and posted a video on Twitter. The video shows the suspect grabbing the hostage, then shows SWAT officers moving in – plus the sound of multiple gunshots.