A TraderJoe's employee is comforted after a suspect barricaded inside the supermarket in Silverlake, Los Angeles, on July 21, 2018. (PHOTO: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)
A police pursuit that ended at a Silver Lake, California Trader Joe's resulted in a hostage situation and a suspect barricading himself inside a store for more than three hours Saturday afternoon NBC 4 reported. The suspect was eventually taken into custody after police negotiated his surrender and the release of several hostages.
Police say the pursuit of the suspect began in Hollywood in connection over a shooting incident that occurred around 1:30 p.m. in South Los Angeles. Two victims, an elderly woman and a woman in her 20s, were found there after a family dispute was reported in the 1600 block of 32nd Street.
Police pursued the suspect in his grandmother's 2015 Toyota Camry through Hollywood, until the chase ended up outside the Trader Joe's at the intersection of Hyperion Ave and Griffith Park Blvd. That's when the suspect then crashed into a street lamp in front of the store and the officer-involved shooting began. The gunman then allegedly shot a female passenger who was in the car with him, and fired on police before retreating into the store.
The woman passenger in the car was taken to the hospital in fair condition Los Angeles Fire Department's Margaret Stewart said.
Video from the scene appeared to show several people being evacuated from the Silver Lake Trader Joe's, including several children who were seen being carried out by officers. At least one person was taken out of the store with injuries, needing immediate medical attention.
After more than two hours of negotiation, police were able to convince the man to handcuff himself, and release the remaining hostages.
SWAT vehicles were in position and an emergency triage center was set up at a nearby location in case they were needed.
Devin Field, a writer for the Jimmy Kimmel Show tweeted that he was at the Trader Joe's when the suspect crashed into the street lamp in front of the store.
President Donald Trump tweeted about the hostage situation saying he was monitoring it closely.
Watching Los Angeles possible hostage situation very closely. Active barricaded suspect. L.A.P.D. working with Federal Law Enforcement.
LA Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted that they were deploying the Mayor's Crisis Response Team to the scene.
"We're deploying our Mayor’s Crisis Response Team to provide emotional support and resources to victims of #SilverLake #TraderJoes incident. For anyone involved in this incident, the family reunification center is @LAPDHQ Northeast Division at 3353 North San Fernando Road."