Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department were in pursuit of a driver in a vehicle stolen from the L.A. Department of Water and Power, which quickly turned into an hours-long standoff situation Wednesday night.
The pursuit was initiated at around 6:30 p.m. in the area of Pacoima, with authorities saying the suspect was also wanted for assault with a deadly weapon.
The man led authorities in a short chase on the southbound 5 Freeway, where he tried to ram officers and other drivers on the roadway, before exiting and pulling into a parking lot off Colorado Boulevard. Officers pulled into the lot behind the suspect, who then turned his vehicle toward them and sped forward, hitting the doors of two police cruisers.
As the suspect nearly missed officers and their patrol vehicles, they fired on him. The disabled SUV rolled across Colorado Boulevard and came to a stop at the front of a driveway.
Aerial footage from Sky5 showed the windshield and driver’s side of the vehicle riddled with bullet holes. Both front tires were also missing from the SUV.
The suspect remained in the vehicle for over two hours, at times acting erratically, standing and waving out the shattered rear window of the SUV with a screwdriver and what appeared to be blood on his hands, as officers kept a safe distance. Later, the man was seen wrapping jumper cables around himself as well.
At around 7:30 p.m., SWAT teams arrived and pulled three armored vehicles up to box the SUV and the suspect in. An hour later, the man, who was bleeding and appeared to be significantly injured, climbed out of the SUV’s rear window and onto the roof of the vehicle.
Officers approached the suspect as he was perched on the SUV’s roof and, after a short struggle, took him into custody. Medical personnel with the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the scene and the suspect was transported to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Because the incident involved a police shooting, authorities said the scene would remain active for several hours.
“An extremely dangerous ordeal with our people’s lives & other(s) jeopardized by an apparent crazed individual,” LAPD Chief Michel Moore tweeted. “Tremendous work by members of the LAPD SWAT to safely resolve.”