Hostage situation at Trader Joe's supermarket in California
July 22, 2018
Los Angeles police said on Saturday that they had arrested a suspect after a tense standoff in a Trader Joe's grocery store in the Silver Lake area.
After the arrest, Mayor Eric Garcetti said that a woman had been shot and killed inside the store, without clarifying her identity.
The incident began around 1:30 pm local time when a man who was fleeing from officers crashed his vehicle, a 2015 Toyota Camry, outside of the supermarket and ran inside it. The suspect was being pursued after reportedly shooting his grandmother and girlfriend in south Los Angeles.
"At the termination of the pursuit, an officer involved shooting occurred," the police department wrote on Twitter, but did not give further details.
Police urged the public to stay away from the area as they confirmed via Twitter there was an "active barricaded suspect" in the store, that he was armed, and a police operation was underway. They later added that a special SWAT team had been deployed to the scene.
Footage from the scene showed people escaping out a store window and door. Later, a man was seen being led away from the store in handcuffs.